Hunt
by Charityx
Summary: Exactly three years after Gary Oak went missing, a cunning new organisation began to take over the League by wiping out its main power - the gym leaders. In just mere seconds Misty needs all the help she can get but she gradually starts to realise that somebody else needs more help than she does. Rated M for language, violence and sexual references. GAML.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Hello, everyone.

It's been a while - a very long while, to be precise. For a long time, I've been planning and thinking up new ideas for stories, and finally, I'm ready to give it my all again. But, this time, I'm taking a slightly different approach. Gone is the 'high school' related fics, and now is something a bit more mature. I'd like to introduce _Hunt_, my latest project. First of all, it's an EgoShipping fic. My obsession with this pair is beyond normal now. Thanks to many great authors on here, I've been inspired to write my own story on Gary and Misty. _Hunt _is going to be a darker story than my previous attempts. It's going to have a lot of twists in it that will hopefully encourage you lovely lot to keep on reading it.

Anyway, that's enough from me. Here, I give you the opening chapter to _Hunt_.

Enjoy!

Hunt

Prologue

"I trust that you understand your mission, young Master," a cruel and intimidating voice said, echoing through the damp and rusty chamber. A small window on the far side of the right wall was the only hope of light that could be seen, and miniscule particles of dust could be seen through the beams. The area surrounding this pathetic amount of light was barely visible, straining one's eyes if they tried to discover what, or who, lurked within the depths of this darkness. Tiny droplets of water could be heard hitting the floor, making a high-pitched popping sound as they crashed from the height of the ceiling. However, a well-built, horrifically tall figure could just about be seen through the shadows, sitting broadly on what seemed to be a throne. The figure snickered evilly, watching the descendant in front of him with devious eyes.

The descendant, who was bowing on one knee to the figure above him, rose from the floor, standing to reveal his full attire. A young man, around the age of nineteen, stood with his head lowered, clutching a simple pendant that hung from a long piece of thread. He appeared to be calm and collected, his face expression as soft as a Teddiursa's fur. Then, slowly, he lifted his head and stepped towards the light, eyeing the figure with sheer determination and commitment. His eyes reflected the posterior he was currently showing; like icy-green capsules, power swam throughout their depths like the raging sea.

"Like the back of my hand," he replied coolly, still holding the pendant around his neck, which appeared to be a yin yang sign. He wore a black, long sleeved top, and over the top of that sat a heavy protector suit, equipped with a black metal rifle gun hung loosely over his shoulder. Strapped securely around his waist sat a large belt equipped with small weapons, and on the lower half of his body were dark grey cargo pants tucked into black biker boots.

"The mission is simple, young Master. First, you are to fool the victim by ensuring her that you are _protecting _her from us, and are leading her away from any threats that may have involved our team. Then, you are to gain her trust by charming her… I won't go into further detail on _that _task, as I'm sure you are confident in it, yes?" the shadow asked, smirking dirtily as he eyed the young man curiously. The boy in front of him didn't say anything, but nodded of approval, sliding his fingers through his thick, chestnut brown spikes.

"Once you have gained her trust, the _real _mission can begin to take place. You will lead her back to our headquarters, still keeping her sweet along the way, so that she won't begin to have doubts. Once you send us the signal, you will be joined by our guards, where she will have no choice but to become a prisoner under our commands," he continued, pacing the floor from wall to wall. "Euphoria _will _succeed, young Master, and this will be your chance to prove to me that your years of training have been worthwhile. Just like your fellow peers, you have the opportunity to become a respected and dignified official, which will then lead you to even _better _heights."

His footsteps stopped and he faced the boy in front of him once again, lips pursed.

"Are you ready, young Master?"

The boy looked at the figure directly in the eye challengingly, his face pure and peaceful. Then, with a large and daring smirk, he answered.

"Bring it on."

* * *

Author's Note:

This was ridiculously short, but this is just the opening chapter to the story, a brief taster of what's to come.

Leave me a review to let me know what you think?

It's good to be back!

Charityx


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Hello everyone. I hope you're all well!

Thanks so much to those of you that reviewed and added this story to your favourites/alerts. Hopefully, as the story progresses, it will become more popular. It's taken me a lot of time and thought to come up with it, so I hope I can share it with as many people as possible!

Now, this is where the _real _story begins.

Hunt

Chapter 1

Misty Waterflower, gym leader of Cerulean City Gym, watched the screen in front of her intensely. It was just horrific – terrifying, in fact. To be honest, terrifying was just an understatement to describe the monstrosity that was currently occurring all over the regions. And, what made it worse was that anyone could be next, which meant that she was just as vulnerable as a Caterpie stuck in a cage full of Pigeot.

It first started out around four years ago. It was so sudden and unexpected. No one saw it coming at all, and when the young, aspiring grandson of Professor Oak disappeared, things changed drastically. No one knew how or why Gary was taken, or even where – all they knew was that he was taken, and it was unlikely that he'd ever be coming back.

It had been all over the papers. Misty herself had only been fourteen at the time, a year younger than he was, and she remembered how every single day seemed like a never ending game of hide and seek. Countless numbers of search parties continued to look for him, but they never found anything, not even a spec of evidence. The Professor held hope and refused to believe such stories of what the press were coming out with, and day by day, he continued to smile broadly and face whatever doubts were thrown at him. Only those who knew him well could see that he had already started to realise that his grandson would never be found.

Exactly three years after Gary went missing, the real crime had begun. Across the regions, gym leaders of all types had started to disappear – rumour had it that a new organisation, which some people had named_ Euphoria_, were behind the disaster, but nothing was ever confirmed. The first to go was Candice, gym leader of Snowpoint Gym in the Sinnoh region. Shortly after Candice, it was Morty from Ecruteak City in Johto, and from then on, no one knew who was going next. That's what made the whole thing so absurd – whoever was taking them were hitting and splitting, randomly moving from region to region. No one knew where their next target was going to be, and more importantly, no one knew who was going to be their next victim.

As Misty continued to watch the TV screen in the Cerulean Gym, a knot started to form in the pit of her stomach. The latest gym leader to vanish was Sabrina, and that meant one thing; they were back in Kanto. Erika was the first of the Kanto gym leaders to go, followed by Blaine, Janine and Koga, and now, Sabrina. Misty knew that Sabrina was an extremely smart and powerful gym leader, and she wouldn't go down without a fight easily, so to know that Sabrina had failed to outwit these people made her feel that much weaker about herself.

_Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone call, phone call!_

Misty jumped and dropped the TV remote in the process, looking up at the videophone. Standing up from her seat on the sofa, she answered to find the beaming face of her eldest sister, Daisy, on the other end.

"Like, hey little sis!"

"Hey Daisy," Misty said, surprised at how enthusiastic her sister sounded. "Is everything okay?"

Daisy's beaming smile vanished.

"Actually Misty, everything's _not _okay," she admitted. "I wanted to talk to you, and it's pretty, like, important."

"I take it you've heard then," Misty replied, referring to the disappearance of Sabrina. She saw Daisy nod and the expression on her face showed that of utter concern, a trait that Misty knew was extremely rare for her sister to show.

"Misty… Lily, Violet and I aren't happy with you being at the gym on your own," she said, putting her hair behind her ears. "I mean, like, what if something happens, Misty? You may be pretty headstrong, but you're still vulnerable on your own, and we, like, don't want anything happening to our baby sister."

"Daisy-"

"And, like, you've seen it yourself. These people are taking gym leaders within the blink of an eye, without any trouble at all. Anyone could be next and we just don't want that person being you, Misty. If anything ever happened to you, we don't know what we'd do."

She looked at her sister dead in the eye. It was clear that Daisy was worried sick – Misty was just surprised at how open she was being. It was unusual for her sister to be this firm, and for that reason, Misty respected her. Plus, she actually agreed with Daisy for once – things were getting far too dangerous, and staying at the gym without anyone else around her was practically waiting in her own death trap.

"Thanks, Daisy," Misty said. "I'm actually glad you brought this up. Each day I feel like my time's running out, and I don't think I can handle this on my own anymore."

"And, like, you know you can't come out to Unova, right?"

Misty gave her sister a bemused expression.

"So where am I going to go?" she questioned.

"Like, don't worry, Misty," Daisy said reassuringly. "I've been in touch with Ash's mom and she said you're free to stay with her in Pallet Town."

Ah – Delia Ketchum. Delia had always been an important person in Misty's upbringing, and Misty felt like she'd always been the mother she never had. From time to time, they'd meet while Ash was out travelling around the different regions to catch up, spending the days drinking lemonade and basking in the sun. That was back when she was a kid, and now a young adult, Misty started to realise just how long it had been since she'd seen the cheery face of Delia.

"Honestly, Daisy, I can't thank you enough right now," Misty said, smiling as she saw her sister grin. "What would I do without you?"

"Well, for one, you'd still look totally boyish," Daisy said, ignoring the unimpressed expression that had engulfed Misty's face. "And you _totally_ wouldn't be the hottest gym leader in Kanto!"

"You know, I wasn't actually expecting an answer to that question," Misty said blankly, raising one eyebrow. "But, you do have a point with the last part," she added smugly.

"I only speak the truth!"

Breaking the conversation, shouting could be heard coming from the room Daisy was in, and Misty giggled as her sister cringed and smacked her hand against her forehead.

"What are they arguing about _this_ time?"

"Probably something totally pointless, like shoes or who gets to use the straighteners first," replied Daisy, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Violet, give them to me!"

"No way Lily, you've like, had them for the past half hour!"

"I was right," Daisy said, rolling her eyes. "Listen, Misty, I've gotta go and sort these two out, but ring me later on this evening _as_ _soon_ as you get to Delia's house, okay?"

"Will do," Misty said.

"Catch you later," Daisy said, standing up from her seat on the videophone. The screen then went blank and Misty was left alone again. Emptiness filled the gym, and instantly, she felt as if she was being watched. The TV was still on and Officer Jenny of Saffron City could be seen, reporting the latest on the current events.

"_The League strongly advises all gym leaders to remain indoors at all times and to make sure you are not alone. Also, ensure you're armed with any type of weapon in case of self-defence. If you happen to see any signs of unusual or suspicious behaviour by an individual or group, immediately call your local Officer Jenny. This is Officer Jenny of Saffron City and I wish you all to remain safe and unharmed."_

. . .

Misty breathed out heavily as she put her suitcase on the floor after carrying it down the stairs. Throughout the day, she had been tidying the gym up as she probably wouldn't be coming back for a long time, which was something she hated to think about. She'd also spent the day packing her things for Delia's house, making sure she didn't leave behind anything important. All of her Pokémon were now in Poké Balls and packed securely away in her bag, ready for the stay ahead.

Letting go of her suitcase handle, she walked over to the front desk and stroked her fingers along the carved Cascade badge sign, a resemblance of the Cerulean Gym. It saddened her to know that she wouldn't be battling any new hopefuls anymore, or handing out anymore badges to pumped kids after winning a battle. She couldn't bear to think of how disappointed they'd be, but then again, they'd surely understand _why _she had to close the gym. Letting out a short but heavy sigh, she went to grab the rest of her things but something caught her attention.

She paused.

A sound could be heard coming from the roof, a sort of scratching sound, as if something had fallen onto it.

She couldn't even brace herself for what happened next.

The roof exploded, sending large amounts of debris to come falling to the ground, crushing the gym desk and almost crushing her. She screamed at the top of her lungs, her throat hurting as she crouched to the floor, shielding her head with her hands. She could feel pieces of glass cut her skin and smoke began to form, suddenly making it extremely hard to breathe. When things started to settle down, she slowly brought her head out from her arms and looked up.

The whole gym was covered in bricks and other debris from the roof, while the air was thick with black cloud. She started to cough, so she covered her mouth with her hand. As she moved, a taste that was similar to metal appeared in her mouth, so examining her lip with her fingers, she discovered that her mouth was bleeding, the iron-like taste sliding down her throat.

When she looked around the gym again, she got that feeling of double life, like she wasn't even present and that it was only her spirit floating around the room. Her head started to pound, and at that moment of time, there was complete silence – only herself and what remained of the gym were present.

_Oh no._

Her eyes started to well up as she thought about what was happening – it was them, they were coming for her, she just knew it. It was too late, she was frozen to the spot in fright, she couldn't even bring herself to run or do anything at all to try and save herself. Her legs started to tremble as she felt herself start to get weaker and weaker. Then, she heard the gym doors slide open.

"Misty, run!"

Her head shot around to the entrance of the gym and she saw somebody running towards her. She ignored his words as she found she had lost the ability to breathe at what she saw in front of her.

_No… that's impossible…_

"What are you doing just standing here? _Run_, Misty!" he bellowed, grabbing her shoulders. She was shaken out of her reverie and all of a sudden she felt a huge surge of energy rush through her. Her bag dropped to the floor, causing all of her Poké Balls to fall out, and as she looked into the boy's eyes, everything around her disappeared – the gym, the smoke, the pain… for a literal second, she felt as if she didn't even exist anymore.

The next thing she felt was his hand gripping onto her arm tightly, pulling her forcefully out of the gym. She breathed in sharply as the pressure of his hand felt like it was bruising her arm and it made her chest burn as if someone was sucking the air out of her. Her breath was hitched in her throat, and as she heard another explosion, her head suddenly dropped back down to earth.

She was running, running as fast as her legs would take her. The boy still had his grip on her and he was almost dragging her along, taking her down the back alley of the gym. The sky was pitch black, making it almost impossible for her to see anything at all.

Another explosion erupted, so Misty chose to close her eyes tightly and attempt to drown out the ringing in her ears. She started to pant, her mouth becoming dry, and when she opened her eyes again, she wasn't down the alley anymore.

Before she could take in her surroundings, she was thrown to the floor. Her head smacked against it, causing her to lose train of thought, and when she looked up, the boy who had dragged her here was crouching over her, covering up her mouth to stop her from screaming. Hot tears began streaming down her face as she stared directly into his sharp green eyes. Gradually, his hold on her began to weaken, and her body stopped shaking. She could still hear the sound of Cerulean in the distance, and just as quickly as they had ran, everything began to fade.

_Silence…_

* * *

Author's Note:

It's funny how life can change within a split second, isn't it? I've had far too many moments throughout mine where one minute, everything is perfect, and then the next, it's a _completely _different story. That's what I wanted to capture in this chapter - just how valuable life really is.

I hope you enjoyed it. Once again, please continue to review! I love reading your thoughts on my writing, it helps me progress and encourages me to carry on.

Until next time,

Charityx


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Next chapter!

Hunt

Chapter 2

Gazing out of a darkened window, a brutal gentleman smiled to himself. Moans and whimpers of begging people could be heard coming from the depths of darkness, and the faint cry of pleading gym leaders soothed his aching headache.

Everything was going to plan. The training, the organisation, the plot… it was all smoothing out so perfectly he hardly had anything left to worry about. His minions were at their best, making every mission successful within no time, and so far, his headquarters were kept hidden away where no man had ever stepped foot before.

But, there was still _one_ small problem.

His smile faltered. For years, it had been dawning on him, eating away in the back of his mind, but just as a good leader should, he continued to ignore it, putting in his absolute best to let the little problem slip away. Yet, it was still there. He knew that right from the start it was a big challenge, but he'd always been one for challenges… especially ones involving death.

Of course, it had been extremely hard, getting the young tyrant to commit to any decisions, but eventually, it left him with no choice but to accept his future. And what a bright future that was! A chance to become a strong leader, commanding the other trainees of the organisation, choosing the fates of those who decided to refuse such a marvellous offer…

And acceptance soon came, as the boy realised he had no other choice but to become a Euphoria official, building up stamina, strength and secrecy. He took to the organisation almost instantly, producing some of the best results they'd seen in a long time and showed so much dedication and passion it sent shivers down his spine…

_But there's still something missing…_

"Salamere."

He closed his eyes and pushed out a heavy sigh. Then, turning around in his seat, he watched the figure in front of him with an unpleasant gaze. The young man, who appeared to be eyeing his leader with uncertainty, held his head high and waited for his order.

"Bow to me."

Just as told, he obeyed and knelt on one knee. As he moved the hood from his cloak, his face was revealed for a split second before his hair fell to the front, covering up his soft yet menacing features. Giving him an approved look, Salamere nodded for him to stand.

"You interrupted me from my thoughts, Artilius," he said, turning back around to continue gazing out of the window. Artilius, who had now risen from his spot, slicked his hands through his hair as he marched toward his leader.

"I sense that you are troubled, Sir," Artilius said steadily, monitoring Salamere's current behaviour. His amber coloured eyes motioned back towards the window, glistening like fresh, morning dew. He smirked quietly. He knew _exactly_ what was bothering his leader, and he wasn't afraid to confront him about it.

"Do you _honestly _think that he's going to succeed?"

Salamere's peaceful expression vanished. His gaze slowly crept towards his acquaintance, his eyes filled with challenge from such a pointless question.

"I refuse to discuss such business with you, Artilius," Salamere said sternly, choosing not to look at his paranoid participant. "Gary has had years of training. He puts his best ability into everything he does, just as I expected him to."

"I highly doubt he's dedicated enough," Artilius replied, trying to get the point across. "He's got too much history, boss. Friends, family… it'll all come back to him soon enough. He hasn't got the strength like me and other officials."

"Ah, see, that's where you're _wrong_, Artilius," Salamere corrected him. "Gary has something that no one else has, something that's _much_ more effective than strength and speed put together."

Artilius snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah? And what's that then?"

Salamere smiled devilishly. Even thinking about Gary's excellence got him riled up with excitement – it was just too perfect.

"What Gary has that none of our other officials have, not even you, Artilius, is charm. You see… Gary has an incredibly flawless ability to fool people so effortlessly… he's even one to fool me, and that takes _great_ skill. But, for him to be able to lead people on and take them into his hands without even breaking a sweat is _much _more efficient than physical ability. It's what the organisation _thrives _on."

Artilius grit his teeth together. He'd always been fooled by Gary, not just mentally, but physically, too. His common knowledge about the world and how it works was much more than he could ever do, and he knew full damn well that they needed someone quick-witted on the team. And, although he hated to admit it, Gary was a threat to him. He _had _to get leader status after Salamere. Not Gary.

"Although, I don't think this discussion is _really _about Gary's commitment, is it?" Salamere asked Artilius cockily, sensing his hesitation. Artilius brought his tongue to the top of his teeth and laughed astonishingly – it was as if Salamere had just read his thoughts.

"Have it your way, boss," Artilius said finally, accepting that the conversation was going nowhere. As Salamere heard Artilius leave, he forced his eyebrows together. He and Artilius knew each other far too well, and just as he had sensed Artilius' jealousy of Gary, Artilius had sensed Salamere's own doubts about Gary's commitment.

_He cannot let me down, _Salamere thought, still dwelling on the thought. Knowledge and charm were what the organisation thrived, and Gary had both. Plus, his mission wasn't exactly hard. A petty female couldn't get in the way of his plans… she had no control over him.

_Yes, _he thought.

Gary _would _succeed. And if he didn't, the past would be repeated.

He'd make sure of that.

. . .

In the peaceful town of Pallet, a lonely Delia Ketchum paced the living room from wall to wall, biting her nails in the process. Misty was due to arrive over an hour ago – it just wasn't like her to be late. But, being the optimistic person she was, Delia had decided to let it slip her mind, thinking up possible answers as to _why _she was late. There could be terrible traffic, or a delay at the gym, or maybe she'd forgotten something and had to travel all the way back to Cerulean?

These thoughts soon evaporated from her mind as new ones started to surface… thoughts that weren't as pleasant and simple as the first ones. She shook her head vigorously as she made her way over to the videophone, taking a seat uncomfortably. She continued to smile, however, as she dialled in the number of the Cerulean City Gym. As more and more time passed without anybody answering, Delia's agitation became more evident. She started tapping her hand on the table nervously and for a split second, she paused as a glimmer of hope appeared.

"_Hi, this is Misty Waterflower, Cerulean City gym leader. I'm unable to take your call right now but if you'd lea-"_

She hung up the phone. Her eyebrows scrunched together irritably – she knew _exactly_ what her mind was trying to tell her, but she refused to believe it. Instead, she continued to believe that there was some other sort of reason as to why Misty hadn't yet arrived. But, out of utter desperation and dread, she warily picked up the TV remote that was sitting on the sofa. As she nervously waited for the TV to turn on, her breath became hitched in her throat, and as she read the main headline at the bottom of the screen, it felt as if her stomach had dropped to the floor.

_No…_

Dropping the remote, she felt her knees go weak, causing her legs to tremble. Then, in a wave of shock, she fell to the floor, finding it hard to breathe. Hot tears burst from her eyes as goose bumps covered her entire body.

"_Latest reports state that the crime has struck again, with the next victim this time being Misty Waterflower, gym leader of Cerulean City. Live coverage from the area shows that the gym has almost been completely destroyed, leaving near to no evidence of who, or what, is causing devastation and confusion around the globe."_

"I'm back," Ash said casually as he walked through the door. He made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water, but when he heard no response from his mom, curiosity began to take over.

"Mom?" he called out, now getting slightly concerned. As he entered the living room, he dropped his glass of water. There on the floor was Delia, leaning against the sofa with her head in her arms. He rushed towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her to get his attention, and when she looked up at him, Ash noticed that her usually bright complexion was replaced with a look that was pale and gaunt, her eyes inflamed.

"Mom, what the hell happened?" he asked, bewilderment engulfing him. He just couldn't understand it – he'd only been gone for fifteen minutes or so to have a quick training session, and before he had left his mom had been joyous, excited about Misty's arrival, and…

His body went limp.

As she looked up at him again, the look in her eyes answered what he didn't want to believe.

Eerily, the TV seemed to become louder, and as Ash shut his eyes tight, he turned to face it. The Cerulean Gym could be seen, absolutely demolished, and as he read the first few words of the headline, he struggled to read the rest – his vision had gone completely blurred.

"No… not her, it _can't _happen to her!" he yelled, slamming his fist against the wall. He grit his teeth together, tears of anger emerging from his eyes, and then, looking up in hatred, he left the room.

Endless thoughts swam throughout Ash's mind as he stormed up the stairs to his bedroom. Tears continued to spew down his face, instantly giving him a torturous headache right at the front of his forehead. He rubbed it with force, tensing his jaw. Pikachu instantly noticed his behaviour and distress, but he didn't need to ask Ash what was wrong – he could feel it in his senses that it was something dreadful.

Ash breathed in heavily and stared blankly at the wall for a moment. For a split second, it seemed as if the whole world around him had shattered, and mentally, it had. His eyesight became unfocused as he suddenly thought back to when he was walking home from training practice. At least two helicopters had flown overhead in the direction of Cerulean City, and he remembered hearing the distant ring of sirens and how he'd thought to himself how odd it was for the police to come out of nowhere all of a sudden. Why hadn't he suspected something like this? He mentally kicked himself for being so naïve, scolding himself for doubting that they'd _ever _step foot near Cerulean. And, as he felt Pikachu tug the bottom of his jeans, the reality of the situation dawned on him.

Enough was enough.

Back downstairs, Delia managed to pull herself up from the floor and dialled a number into the videophone. She breathed in shakily and tried to control herself, dreading the thought of what she was about to do. After a few rings, the person on the other line answered.

"Like, hey Delia!" Lily greeted, smiling brightly.

Just as quickly as she had answered, her smile vanished.

"Daisy," Lily called, raising her voice slightly. A muffled response could just about be heard, but Lily continued to stare at Delia as she ordered her sister to the videophone. Delia remained silent – her state was enough to say that something was definitely _not_ okay.

As Daisy appeared, she studied Delia's appearance with hesitation. She took Lily's seat and sat down apprehensively, never taking her eyesight off of the older woman. Lily and Violet were seen in the background, Lily biting her nails and Violet crossing her arms timidly.

"Delia, what's wrong?" Daisy asked, almost demandingly. Delia tried to look up positively, but found it hopeless. As she looked into Daisy's eyes, she started to tremble even more than she already was. She just couldn't bear it – Misty, their baby sister, who had so much potential and talent, gone, just like that. Daisy's agitation started to show as she shifted nervously in her seat, her eyebrows forming together.

"Delia, what's wrong?" she asked again, her voice now a lot more unsettled than at first. "Is Misty with you?"

At the sound of her name, Delia started crying again. Looking at Misty's three sisters, the ability to speak completely left her. Worry was written within their faces and their behaviour, and as Daisy looked at Delia with a hopeful, begging expression, all she could do was shake her head.

The sound of Lily's sobs could be heard in the background, and Delia watched Violet desperately try to console her younger sister. Daisy just sat there motionless for a moment, still taking in the truth of what had happened. Taking in a deep breath, Delia tried to look strong, but it failed miserably – nothing could give her strength at all.

"We're leaving," Daisy said suddenly, making Delia jump. Her bright eyes looked tired and bloodshot all of a sudden, as if she'd had no sleep for months on end. Delia nodded as that was all she could do, staring blankly at the screen which immediately cut out. As soon as it did, she brought her hands to her face, and from then, all she could do was shed even more tears than she already had. A loud bang suddenly echoed through the house, causing Delia to look straight towards the front door.

"Ash?" she called out. There was no response until Mimey abruptly ran out of the kitchen, waving his arms around like a lunatic towards the entrance to her home. As she realised what was happening, she rushed to the front door, a sudden burst of energy whizzing through her.

"Ash, you get back here right now! Just what do you think you're doing?" she shouted, running as fast as her legs would take her to catch up with him. He stopped and turned to face her, his expression filled with pure animosity.

"I'm going out to look for her, mom!" he said forcefully, taking a step forwards. "They can't take her, not Misty!"

"Ash, you don't know where you're going!" Delia said, grabbing her son's hand. "You don't know what you're looking for or what these people are like! They could take you just as easily as they've taken Misty, and not just Misty, but all of the other gym leaders that have disappeared too!"

"I'm looking for Misty, mom," Ash said bitterly, lips pursed. "I don't care what it takes, or what I'm getting myself into. Misty's more than just a companion, mom. She's my best friend! I can't just let these people take her like this!"

He pulled his arm away from Delia's grasp and continued to storm down the path.

"Please, Ash, I need you here!" Delia pleaded, grabbing his arm again. "I can't risk losing you too, please, Ash, I'm begging you!"

"No, mom!" he bellowed, startling her. For a short moment, they stared into each other's eyes, as if it would be the last time they'd ever see each other. Then, giving into defeat, Delia pulled her son into a warm embrace.

"Please, just… be careful, Ash," she said, smiling serenely. He looked at her with incredulity until his attention turned to Mimey who had brought out an umbrella to hold over Delia's head. Looking back at his mom, he grabbed her and held her lovingly, accepting the faith that she had within him.

"I will be," he said confidently, kissing her gently on the cheek. Pulling out of their embrace, Ash squeezed her hand tight before turning around and heading back up the path towards Professor Oak's laboratory. Delia brought her hands toward her chest and stared after him, mesmerised by his determination and passion. Now at the age of nineteen, Ash had matured both physically and mentally. He wasn't a boy anymore, but he was still _her_ boy. And she was proud of the person that he'd grown into.

Continuing to sob, the rain began to pour heavily, leaving Delia and Mimey to stand in the road, numb to the core. She wished that she could have some of Ash's positivity, but it just wouldn't come to her because a strong hint of doubt sat in the back of her mind.

He wasn't going to be a hero. Not this time.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, we discover more about Euphoria in this chapter… two characters are introduced briefly, called Salamere and Artilius. Not much is described of them, but that will come further on in the story. I like to keep you thinking! What do _you _think Euphoria's plans are? Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading,

Charityx


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Hi everyone. Sorry for the longer wait, but here's the next chapter.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Hunt

Chapter 3

_Silence…_

That's all she could hear. The world had completely stopped, and all she could do was stare at the boy leaning over her. Her eyes stung from the sudden tiredness that engulfed her, and felt raw, as if they hadn't seen sleep in months. She was too shocked that she couldn't even move a muscle, still trying to catch her breath from the events that had just occurred. Then, as he looked her dead in the eyes, her body was removed from the tense state it was just in. She let out the large breath she had been holding since the moment her head hit the floor and closed her eyes.

She blocked out everything that had just happened within that space of time – the explosion, the shock, running for dear life… as Misty thought back to the gym, she thought that maybe, just maybe, this was all just her mind playing tricks on her. She'd been deeply concerned about the whole gym leader case, so she hoped and prayed that when she opened her eyes again, she'd be in her bed, awake from a terrible, terrible nightmare.

But she wasn't.

The boy used his hands to push himself up from the floor, leaving her feeling defenceless and weak. He held out his hand to help her up, and apprehensively, she took it. As Misty stood on her feet, she felt the effects of being thrown to the floor so forcefully. The blood rushed to her head rapidly, causing her vision to become clouded and bleary. She felt two firm hands stop her from falling, allowing her to get her balance back.

Reality hit her again.

"Why are you here?" she questioned, terror evident in her eyes. "You're dead! You've been dead for _four_ years, what in _God's name _is going on?" Misty said, almost insanely. She took a few steps back from him and shook her head inconsistently, her sight never leaving his.

"I'm not dead," he replied nonchalantly, keeping his voice tranquil. "Misty, you need to relax for just a moment."

She looked at him astonishingly, unable to believe the sincere and calm attitude the boy was currently possessing. She started laughing sarcastically, looking around her in disbelief. What did he _honestly _think he was doing?

"Relax? You expect me to _relax, _Gary?" she asked, her voice levitating. "I can't believe this, I honestly cannot believe that this is happening to me," she continued to rant, holding her hand against her forehead.

"Just listen to me, for one seco-"

"Listen to you? Why should I listen to somebody that's supposed to be dead? Gary, I don't know if you understand, but you haven't been seen for _four_ _years, _and out of _nowhere, _you turn up, dragging me to… to… wherever we are telling me that I need to relax? _Why _was I almost _killed _back there?"

"Well, I've been _trying _to tell you that," he said sarcastically. He watched her face drop and a look of pure rage possessed it; like a Gyarados, she looked ready to go in for the kill.

"How _dare_ you? How_ dare _you talk to me like that, when I've just been through hell and back? Just what do you think you're doing? You disgust me, you… you… asshole!"

Gary sighed. Yep – this was definitely going to be a challenge. He hadn't seen this girl in years, and he could clearly see that she wasn't one for taking any disrespect from anyone. Her insult was enough to tell him that, although he understood that she had a good reason to be acting the way she was. She was right – she'd just been dragged to hell and back within the space of around ten minutes, so of course she was going to be slightly dishevelled. He decided to take a more stern approach, hoping that it would make her realise that she needed to sort herself out, and soon.

"Misty, listen to me," he said, grabbing her arm sharply. "I need you to settle down, and I need you to give me a chance."

"No, why should I?"

"Please," he said sternly. The look in his eyes was sincere and honest –something that made her give in to the anger that was begging to burst almost instantly. She swallowed hard, and stubbornly, she nodded for him to continue.

"We need to move," he said after her approval, analysing his surroundings tautly. "Come on, they're already on our case."

"Wait, Gary," Misty said, using the strength she had left to halt to a stop. "Who are _they? _You're not explaining anything to me, and… no. I'm _not _going with you. I don't know you anymore, I haven't seen you for four years, I can't even trust you!"

"You don't get it, Misty!" Gary yelled, now agitated at how immovable the girl really was. "I'm here to help you. Can't you understand that? There's people out there looking for you, and they won't stop until they get what they want!"

"And who _are _these people, Gary? You're not making any sen-"

"Euphoria, _that's _who," he said. Her face dropped at the sound of that name – Euphoria… where had she heard it before?

"Who are _Euphoria_, Gary?" she asked desperately, her anger starting to take over again. She contemplated the name once more at the recognition, forcing her eyebrows together. "Are they the group that's taking the gym leaders?"

Her facial expression was that of pure confusion. She honestly had no idea, did she?

"Yes," he said distinctly, keeping his sight on her. Her lip started to quiver, and as she realised _exactly _what was happening, she took a step back. Her eyesight looked distant and unfocused, her body was tense and her face seemed to lack any kind of life. Gary was surprised, however, at how she still refused to cry, even in a situation as bad as what Euphoria was.

"I refused to believe that they'd come for me," she said bluntly, her expression motionless. "And the reality of it all has just hit me. Hard."

He waited for her to look at him again, and this time, he made sure his message came across loud and clear. Immediately, he could see that she was determined not to let the situation get the better of her, and for that, he held the slightest bit of respect for her. But still, beneath her strong posterior, he could sense that she was terrified.

"This isn't just a game, Misty," he said sternly, fury in his eyes. "They're after you. And once they get you, there's no turning back. So you either come with me, or you stay here. It's your choice."

She could evidently see the willpower in his eyes. He was determined to protect her from the monster that was Euphoria, but she just couldn't get her head around it. There were so many questions running through her mind. Why was Gary involved? Why was he trying to protect _her_ from Euphoria? How did he know that they would come to her next? Bewilderment attacked her like a wild herd of Tauros, stomping away at every part of her brain.

"It looks like I don't have a choice, do I?"

He smiled awkwardly, surprised at how straightforward she was being. He then led her further into the woodland, keeping a close eye on everything surrounding them. At this point, Misty had settled down, choosing to follow his sense of direction without interrupting. This gave Gary the chance to reflect on his mission so far.

He'd managed to gain her trust, to some extent. But, he still knew it wasn't going to be easy keeping his story straight. She'd have a ton of questions to ask him, he was certain… he'd just have to let his quick-witted nature do the talking. And, surprisingly, it seemed as if she'd finally accepted her fate already. By the way she was acting, she already knew things were never going to be the same again.

_Might be easier than I first expected, _he thought to himself, smirking subtly. Spotting a small wooded enclosure, he strode ahead of her, crouching down to check if there were no inhabitants. Standing back up, he called Misty over by nodding his head towards it.

"We'll rest here for tonight," he said, making enough room for Misty to sit down. She gave him a disbelieving look and shook her head in denial, crossing her arms.

"I'm not sleeping in there with you," she said bluntly, taking a step back. Sighing, he gave her an agitated look and stood up to her level. Then, looking smug, he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

"What on _earth _do you think you're doing?" she shouted, punching his back. "Gary, put me down!"

"You're gonna have to start doing what I tell you to do, Misty," he said coolly, placing her down roughly in the enclosure. "Now let's get this straight. If you don't do what I tell you to do, then bad things are gonna happen. You have _no _idea what's out there. And if you refuse to let me _protect _you, then you could be dead by tomorrow morning. Got it?"

She looked at him incredulously before moving as far away from him as possible. He shook his head in a hopeless manner and looked up into the night sky, his gaze distant. Misty continued to observe him cautiously, and noted his appearance – he looked exactly as she remembered him, but something was different. He appeared hidden and dark, like there was something shadowing him that was holding him back. He was laid back yet dominant, unnerving her in many ways.

Studying him further, she felt her eyebrows being drawn together. She didn't know his story – no one did anymore. There was a new story to Gary, and she was eager to find out… but not just yet. As she took a closer look at him, she discovered he looked battered and bruised, and his eyelids looked extremely heavy. He wore some sort of protective suit over his upper body, and different weapons were clipped onto a belt, but what shocked her most was the large rifle gun that was slung over his shoulder.

"Gary," she said hesitantly. "How did you know I was their next target?"

This was exactly what he had been waiting for – the questions. He studied her composure and steadily, he inched closer to her. To his surprise, she didn't even flinch. Using his arms, he dragged his body next to hers and handed her a distinctive looking badge, with an 'E' as the main prospect.

"This is why," he said, watching her examine it closely. "For the past four years, I've been running from an organisation, as you now know, called Euphoria. They're not like other organisations, Misty. In fact, they're completely different. When I went missing, it was because they'd tracked me down and eventually, they caught me."

"Why?" she asked vaguely. "I don't understand why they wanted _you _out of everyone."

He considered her words for a short moment before answering her.

"I still don't know that myself, to be honest," he admitted. "But, all I know is that they wanted young people to join the force. People with energy, strength… all these different factors. At first, they convinced me that what they were doing was good. I believed them… but I soon realised they were lying to me."

"So, if you've been on the run from them, then how did you know they were after me?"

"They have a plan, Misty, of all the gym leaders they're gonna abduct and in what order that's gonna be," he explained. "After Sabrina went, I remembered that it was your name next, and something kept telling me to come after you."

Misty's expression stayed calm. Her eyebrows were still forced together, showing that she was still confused about the situation, but nonetheless, she seemed to accept his reasoning.

"I've heard enough for one night," she said, giving him a brief smile. She suddenly felt the effects from what had happened – exhaustion took over her instantly, and the intensity of running for so long hit her body hard. One side of her head was pounding, causing her eyes to feel heavy and irritated, and while her lip felt swollen, her arms felt like they'd been crushed from Gary's strong grip.

Turning her body so that she was no longer facing him, Misty rested her head on the floor, staring into thin air. It was surreal – she honestly felt as if she was in a dream – a really, really bad dream. Her body ached, her head pounded, and her mouth was screaming out for water. Her lip started to itch as the blood started to dry out, and although she didn't want to admit it, she was feeling _extremely _weak. A single hidden tear slid down the side of her face, and as she heard Gary edge away from her, she closed her eyes and prayed to Arceus that this would all be over in the morning.

But even praying couldn't stop the nightmare she was living.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, this chapter picked up from the first where Misty was abducted. From here on, the story's going to get more dark, lustful, and more will be revealed about Euphoria. For now, though, that is all! What did you think? What do you think is going to happen? I'd like to hear your ideas!

Review if you'd like, or add my story to your favourites/alerts… I really don't mind!

Until next time,

Charityx


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Hi guys. The next chapter is up! Sorry for the longer wait.

Hunt

Chapter 4

Gary Oak crept out of the small, secluded enclosure that was hidden between the bushes and trees of the forest he'd dragged Misty to the night before. He didn't exactly know where they were, but all he knew was that he'd ran as quickly as he could and as far away from Cerulean City as possible – the area around them was silent.

As he checked over his shoulder, Gary could see that Misty was still asleep, her body heavy and limp from the exhaustion that flooded her. In an eerie way, she looked almost peaceful, and for a moment, Gary felt as if he could read into her dreams – dreams of happiness and ambition. He felt his eyebrows form into a frown as he thought back to reality and the truth of what was going to happen to her. Pushing that thought aside, he made his way down to a small stream not far from the enclosure, the current dancing as it continued on its journey. The smell of composting leaves filled the air, and the light from the outside world filtered through the branches of the trees that towered over him.

It was early morning, Gary could tell, as the grass around him was still damp and the Pokémon that inhabited forest areas were not making a sound. For Gary, this was ideal – he could be on his guard with ease, any sudden movements or sounds would be heard without fault, and he didn't have to worry about being caught anytime soon. He'd be back at the headquarters within no time.

He smirked as his mind drifted back to home. Salamere had put every ounce of faith he held onto into Gary, and he wasn't going to let him down, _that_ he was certain about. With this being his first mission, he wanted to prove to Salamere that he wasn't just a fluke. He wanted to prove that he was dedicated to Euphoria just as much as he was, and if that meant going through hell, then so be it. Plus, he was in a tough competition – Artilius wasn't going to go down that easily without a fight. He was already above Gary in the ranks by being Salamere's personal assistant and messenger, but that didn't scare him. Gary _knew _that he was more skilled than Artilius in pretty much every field there was, so once Artilius was out of the way, there wouldn't be a problem.

After splashing his face with fresh water, he checked his body armour and weapons and made his way back up to where Misty was sleeping. She hadn't moved position from when he'd last looked at her, and her skin looked numb.

"Come on, Misty, we've gotta go," Gary said, kneeling down to her level. He put his hand onto her shoulder to shake her, and he flinched when he did so – her skin felt sharp from how cold it was, and he suddenly noticed how the colour seemed to have drained from her.

_Shit._

He unclipped a small tube from his belt and shook it quickly in his hand. The substance that was once clear mystically changed into a deep violet, just like the inside of an Espeon's ears. Once the process had been completed, he poured the substance into her mouth and massaged some into her right arm, which appeared to be bruised and swollen. He held the back of her head and rested it on his lap, moving her hair out of the way to make sure the liquid was fully swallowed. Her body started to glow as it gradually gained health, and once the process was complete, he waited for her to wake up.

Serene, ocean coloured eyes opened, and as Gary looked further into them, he noticed how detailed they were, with splashes of blue and green merging together to form a sphere of what looked like the sea. Becoming conscious again, she sat up and examined her surroundings but as soon as she came back down to earth, her body turned tense.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking back at Gary. She blushed when she realised how close she was to him, her face just mere inches away from his but she shook it off and used her arms to drag herself away from him, pushing the small strands of hair that fell around her face behind her ears.

"We haven't moved anywhere since last night," he said, standing on his feet and making his way out of the enclosure. Misty pushed herself up and rushed after him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, feeling her presence behind him. She took a few moments to answer and stood next to him, eyeing him curiously.

"Fine, actually," she said surprisingly. Realising how alert and bright she felt compared to last night, she couldn't help but question herself how a bad night's sleep in an uncomfortable wooded enclosure could've possibly made her feel better. It was as if Gary had read her mind, as he started to explain why she was restored back to full health.

"I had to revive you," he said. "You were out cold. If I'd noticed any later, you wouldn't be here now," he continued. He appeared to be examining her, and to Misty's annoyance, she stubbornly walked ahead of him.

"You had to revive me?" she asked, his words sinking in. "How could you revive me? Isn't that impossible?"

"By using this," Gary said coolly, holding up another tube of the revival liquid. Misty studied him cautiously and took the tube, holding it up in front of her face.

"If you shake it, it changes colour. This makes it react and the main chemical that's used to restore general health is powered up. As soon as I realised you were unresponsive, I used it on you and it made you recover."

"So if this is a revival potion, it can be used to save lives?"

Gary's jaw tightened at her sentence – sure, Euphoria used it to stop people from dying, but he wasn't sure that _saving_ lives was the best way to put it. Salamere ordered his minions to use it in a more sick kind of way, by reviving people who disobeyed orders after being beaten and wounded just so that they could do it all over again.

"Yeah, exactly," he said quickly, not wanting her to notice his hesitation. She looked impressed and handed him back the tube before focusing her attention on the forest around her.

"What happens now?"

"We keep moving," Gary said, marching onwards. "It's a never ending battle with Euphoria, Misty. They won't give up the chase. They'll keep searching and searching until they find us, but I'm not gonna let that happen."

"You haven't ever thought about fighting back?" Misty challenged him. "What happened to never giving up? I sure as hell don't remember you being the one to run away or back down _this _easily."

"Take a look at me, Misty," Gary said frustratingly. "Do I _look _like I've got the strength to put up a fight? I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have any Pokémon. I have a gun, sure, but that's not enough. There are hundreds of them and there's only one of me, Misty. If I stop running and decide to fight back, it's like practically _asking_ them to kill me."

"Then why don't you get help? You say you've been on the run from them for years, so why have you never gone back to Pallet Town? Why haven't you alerted the police of Euphoria and told them what's been happening? If they knew they'd be able to stop them and then no more gym leaders would be taken. Nothing you say ever makes any sense!"

"You don't know what I've been through," Gary said bitterly, his face mere inches away from Misty's. "I might not be making any sense to you, but it makes _a lot _of sense to me. Just accept what I'm doing, Misty, because trust me, if you were in _my _situation, you'd be doing the exact same thing."

Misty felt her heart start to pound – he had such a strong hold on her that she couldn't even put up a decent fight with him. He was right, though – she didn't have a _clue _about what had happened to Gary or how he even wound up in this situation in the first place, but why wasn't he telling her? Standing her ground, Misty took a slightly different approach towards him.

"Gary, I want to _help_ you," Misty said pleadingly, her eyes turning soft. "But, I can't do that if you're not going to be honest with me and tell me _exactly_ what has happened over the past few years."

He clenched his jaw once again and looked away from her. He was _far _from being honest with her – he'd been lying ever since he'd set foot into the gym. But, it was what his mission was, and gaining her trust was vital.

"I can't go back, Misty," he said calmly, gazing further into the woodland. "Because if I go back they're gonna kill my Pokémon. That's the threat – if I even _try _going back to Pallet Town or alerting the police that's what they'll do. I can't risk that happening."

That part of Gary's story was true – Salamere had made it perfectly clear that if Gary even had _one_ thought about using his mission to get away, his Pokémon would be killed instantly. He'd never considered going back to Pallet Town, anyway – he didn't have anything to go back to. He was just a ghost, a distant memory, a shadow… everyone he knew thought that he was dead, and it was going to stay that way. He had a new life, a new commitment and a new home that he wasn't going to give up on anytime soon – he needed to make the most out of it.

"Well that makes a lot more sense now," Misty said, watching Gary carefully. "I'm sorry, Gary."

"It's cool," Gary said, smiling thinly. "You had a right to know."

She nodded and looked to the floor, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment. She swallowed down a large lump that had formed in her throat – the reality of it all had dawned on her again.

"What's going to happen to me, Gary?" she asked frankly. "I'm never going to see my sisters again, am I? My Pokémon won't have a trainer, the gym will be closed… how do you expect me to get through this?"

"Whatever happens, Misty," he said, pausing shortly to think of how to phrase his words. "You'll have me. And, as un-reassuring as that might sound to you right now, I'm not going anywhere."

She half laughed, looking to the floor again. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, and as she exhaled, she looked up at Gary as if he was the only glimmer of hope left in the world.

"I trust you," she said confidently, gazing deeply into his eyes. They held a hidden story, something that Misty couldn't put her finger on, but she chose to ignore the hesitation that swam throughout them. He nodded and tentatively turned around, his mouth dry at her words.

A strong, gut feeling lingered around Gary's stomach. It was strange – he'd gained her complete trust. She was leaving her life to him, certain that he was going to protect her and make sure nothing would happen, but only he knew this was _not _the case. The mission was going to be easy now – all he had to do was lead her on for a little longer and make her feel completely comfortable in his presence, and then the rest of it was up to Euphoria. They'd meet Gary, take Misty hostage and drag her back to their headquarters – done, dusted. He wouldn't have anything left to do with her.

Yet why was he starting to feel guilty?

* * *

Author's Note:

So, quick recap;

Gary's been 'on the run' from Euphoria for at least four years. Really, he's been sent on a mission to lead Misty back to their headquarters so Euphoria can succeed and continue with their plans. At the moment, he's gaining her trust, but will Gary be able to stick to Salamere's orders, or will the past battle the present?

There's lots of twists and turns coming up! Stay tuned for the next chapter, which should be uploaded within a couple of weeks. Soon, we'll find out how Ash has been getting on, and we'll discover more about how Gary ended up working for Euphoria in the first place.

Please review! I love hearing what you think.

Until next time,

Charityx


	6. Chapter 5

Author's Note:

Morning/afternoon/evening, whatever it may be wherever you are at the moment! Here's the next chapter to _Hunt. _I managed to update a bit quicker this time, because so far, this has been the best chapter for me to write. Anyway, just so you guys don't get confused, this chapter starts at the end of chapter two, where Ash has just left Pallet Town to go and look for Misty. It then returns to the present time of Gary and Misty.

Enjoy!

Hunt

Chapter 5

Ash's goal was simple; find Misty. And if that meant risking his own life, then so be it. To him, Misty was worth dying for, and he was going to stop at _nothing _to make sure she was saved from these sick monsters that got a kick out of taking innocent people – it was just damn right mental. What did they want to do? What were their intentions? Whatever the reason was, it was obviously bad, because no one in their right mind would take gym leaders for a good cause without telling anyone where they were.

_Bastards, _Ash mentally thought as he stormed up the pathway that led to Professor Oak's laboratory. The rain pounded down onto his face with force like bullets, and brimming with hot rage, Ash felt as if they evaporated as soon as they hit his skin. Pounding his fist on the door, Ash tried shouting through the letterbox to get the attention of the Professor or Daisy Oak.

"Come on, Professor, open up! I _need _to get to my Pokémon!"

After a couple more seconds of pounding the door down, the dark silhouette of Samuel Oak appeared through the small window next to the entrance of the Oak household. Ash's muscles and posture remained taut, a deadly expression plastered over his boyish features. The Professor answered sharply, opening the door to reveal himself. He looked exhausted and hollow, Ash noted, but his actions remained alert.

"Ash, please, come in," he said hastily, stepping to the side so that Ash could enter. Ash nodded and stormed past the Professor, stopping abruptly in the hallway. His hands were balled into fists and his jaw was clenched. Pikachu followed him in, an expression of doubt visible, as if he already knew that this was a terrible idea. From the top of the stairwell, Daisy Oak tiptoed down a few steps gracefully, her soft features moulded into a look of fretfulness. She held her nightgown around her waist and sat down on one of the steps, her caramel coloured hair falling around her face in messy, untamed waves.

"Your mother called not long ago," the Professor said, closing the door behind him. "She's in a terrible state, Ash. I've never seen her so distressed."

"I know, Professor, but as selfish as it sounds, she's not of my concerns at the moment. I _need _to get to my Pokémon, and I'm leaving here as soon as I've got a decent team. They're not gonna get away with it, not this time!"

"Ash, I understand that you're angry, but please, just take a few seconds to actually _think _about what you're doing," said the Professor, trying to reason with Ash's strong way of dealing with things. However, he knew that he wasn't going to get very far, as the look on Ash's face said otherwise.

"No, I don't need to think about what I'm doing, Professor, I'm going out to look for Misty and that's final, what part of that don't you understand? Just take me to the garden so I can get to my Pokémon!"

The Professor winced at Ash's anger, but nonetheless led him to the back of the laboratory. He unlocked the gate that was the entrance to the outdoor garden and showed Ash where most of his Pokémon were situated. Within seconds, all of Ash's Pokémon sensed his presence and came out of their temporary homes, visibly concerned.

"Hey, everybody," Ash greeted them all apprehensively, kneeling down to their level. Bulbasaur was the first to step forward, joining Pikachu in curiosity. Charizard appeared distant but resolute, monitoring his master's actions with great depth. As all of Ash's Pokémon gathered around him in a crowd, Ash looked at each and every one indomitably, his eyebrows narrowed.

"Listen," he started to say, but he then pursed his lips again. He didn't know how to explain it to them – they wouldn't understand the situation as much as he did. He had decided to keep the whole missing gym leader case from them right when it started in case it unsettled them. They didn't deserve to be hurt like the public were – it would only cause more harm than good. Deciding to start from the very beginning, Ash took another glance around at his trusted team and nodded mentally to himself.

"For a long time, something terrible has been happening. Across the regions, gym leaders have been disappearing. No one knows why, but… it's serious. And recently, things have only gotten worse."

His team looked frustrated. Ash understood, though – they were probably angry at him for not letting them know sooner, but he pushed that aside – they needed to cooperate, and fast.

"Today, a _very _important person was taken from me by these people. You all know Misty, right?"

Most of his team started to look concerned – Ash's Bulbasaur walked up to him and had a pleading look in his eyes, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Ash nodded slowly, swallowing down the large lump in his throat confirming what Bulbasaur had been dreading. As he felt it slide down, it reminded him of eating something sharp after not chewing it properly. It scraped along his pipe, and his bottom lip started to tremble again – the whole thing was just unbearable.

"She's been taken by these people," he continued, refusing to let his Pokémon see him cry. "I'm going out to look for her, but I can't do that without a team," he said, looking up with a glint of hope in his eyes.

The first to step forward was Charizard. He nodded his head and grunted, his posterior sharp and mighty. Bulbasaur, Heracross, Totodile and Noctowl followed shortly after, and, now feeling less unnerved, Pikachu's expression changed from that of worry to strong-minded. Ash studied his new team intently and smiled gratefully, admiring how brave it was for them to step up to the challenge. The rest of Ash's Pokémon muttered among themselves and to those who had decided to go along with Ash, but also looked slightly unsure of whether to join the party. Ash noticed this in their behaviour and gave them a reassuring look.

"You guys need to stay here and support each other," he said, petting Bayleef on the head. "And not just each other, but the Professor, my mom… and anyone else that's finding it hard at the moment. Can I trust you all to do that?"

"Wott!" Ash's Oshawott replied, confirming his approval. Ash grinned and scratched Oshawott's head before turning his attention to the rest of his team from Unova. He could understand each and every one of his Pokémon's feelings and thoughts, and he appreciated that they'd decided to stay out of this journey – they didn't know Misty like the others did, and for that reason, he respected them for their support.

"Well, come on," Ash said, standing up abruptly. "We need to get moving, and fast. It's gonna be tough, but that's no excuse. I'm counting on you guys."

Taking their Poké Balls from inside the lab, Ash returned them and clipped them onto his belt. The only Pokémon that remained unreleased was Pikachu, and as Ash looked back at the rest of his Pokémon, goose bumps covered his skin.

"Pika!"

He looked down at his most loyal companion and gave him a fearless look.

"You ready for this, Pikachu?"

Pikachu didn't even need to answer as he had already ran back towards the front entrance of the Professor's laboratory. Nodding to himself, Ash followed suit, his strides confident and unwavering.

"Good luck, Ash."

Stopping one last time, Ash turned around to face the Professor. He had a distant look on his face, but besides that, he continued to remain positive. Accepting the Professor's words, Ash walked to the front door and slammed it shut. The rain had stopped, and now a faint mist had covered Pallet Town.

It was time to find Misty.

When Ash had left, the Professor closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. It was all too much for him to take in – they'd already lost Gary and Misty, and now that Ash had gone, it meant that there was just as much of a chance that _he'd _go missing, too. If that was the case, he couldn't bear to think of the state that Delia would be in. Losing Misty, the daughter she never had, was hard enough, but losing Ash, her _own son_, would be the end of Delia's hope and mind.

"Do you think he'll find her?"

The Professor turned to face his granddaughter and tried to smile reassuringly. It was a failed attempt, however, as she instantly noticed his doubts. She approached him with tears apparent in her bright eyes and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. He seemed limp, so she closed her eyes and prayed to Arceus that Ash would be okay – not that it would help at all.

"I don't know, Daisy," the Professor answered, cradling her in his arms lovingly. "Ash has been on many journeys, and he's had _many _encounters with danger before, but…"

Her eyes opened when she sensed him hesitate.

"What's wrong, Gramps?" Daisy asked, looking up at him with sincere eyes. He half smiled and moved a strand of hair away from her face and sighed, looking ahead into thin air. She'd been so strong throughout the past few years, and in all honesty, she was the only person that was keeping him sane.

"Well, in any other situation, I'd be positive that Ash would succeed," he hesitated, shaking his head in denial. "But if these are the same people that took Gary, then unfortunately, there's not a lot of hope for Ash this time around."

_If hundreds of search parties cannot find my grandson, then I doubt that just one person can find Misty._

. . .

Hours – that's what it felt like to Misty. She didn't even know what time of the day it was, or where they were, or even how long she'd been gone for. All she knew was that she was tired, she was hungry and she was going to collapse any moment from exhaustion.

Gary had been persistent. He had made it clear that he wasn't stopping any time soon, so to avoid any further arguments, she'd kept her mouth zipped. She trusted him, anyway – it was obvious that he knew what he was doing.

_Well, he _has_ been on the run from these people for four years._

She rolled her eyes silently behind him as he continued to lead her through the endless amounts of woodland and shrubbery that surrounded them. His pace had started to deter the further they walked, yet he still remained alert and ready for anything that might have been thrown at them.

Gary Oak – who would've thought that she'd be hauled into a journey of survival alongside him? She knew that he was misunderstood, and she _knew _that he was hiding something from her, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. The whole situation was surreal, to be honest – she just accepted that he was there and that he was protecting her.

Misty continued to study him. She hadn't really had the chance to observe him properly yet – so much had been going on, she couldn't even remember whether this was really the same person she once knew when she was younger or whether he was just a copy, her imagination.

He looked pure yet dangerous, like a Ninetales that was focused on hunting down its prey. His tall structure was evened out by the muscle he'd developed and gave him a mighty aura, which gave her a sense of security. Though he showed signs of tiredness, his eyes remained warm and gentle, making her body relax every time she felt tense. Everything about him was so unsolved it kept her on her feet, begging to find out more about the boy she had yet to learn again.

She jumped out of her thoughts when she felt herself walk into something hard. It happened to be Gary, who had stopped quickly without warning – his eyes were focused and narrow, contemplating something.

"We can't risk being seen," Gary said, looking out towards the distance. Misty followed to where his eyes were looking and understood his suggestion. They'd reached the end of the woodland, and all that stood before them was tall grass and open land.

"Well, it looks like there's no other way," Misty reasoned, stepping beside him. "Isn't life all about taking chances?"

"It is."

"But," Misty said, eyeing him annoyingly.

"It is, but not necessarily in every situation. Chances are, we step right into open ground like that and we get spotted straight away. See those mountains over there? That's where we're gonna head."

"And how do you plan on getting there?" Misty asked.

"I don't."

She looked at him perplexedly but nonetheless carried on, following his lead once again. He smirked at her playfully and caused her to laugh – something that she hadn't done in what seemed like a _long _time.

"Do you want to stop?"

"I'm fine," Misty said confidently, not wanting to interrupt Gary's plan of action. She was strong, Misty knew that, and although she was dying to rest again, she didn't want to slow them down.

He gave her a look of disbelief and smirked again, narrowing his eyes – convincing people obviously wasn't one of her strongest points. Rolling her eyes, Misty gave into defeat and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, I'd like to stop," she admitted, copying his expression. "But quit this whole _tough guy _act."

"Tough guy act," Gary said incredulously. "Misty, I'm just doing my job."

She rolled her eyes again and walked down a small hillside that brought her to the river and a small area of land hidden by a large willow tree. It's long, swaying branches hung down elegantly, almost touching the surface of the water.

Slipping off her shoes, she ran down to the water's edge and placed her feet into it. Gary watched her intently and felt the corners of his lips turn upwards as she moved them around, the power of the stream splashing up against the side of her legs. Her hair moved in time with the breeze, flowing blissfully and playfully. Her eyes were closed, her shoulders were loose and a look of tranquillity was present in her expression.

Gary decided to join her and looked out towards the slowly setting sun. On the other side of the stream was more forest, and further down was a never ending pathway of gushing water, fighting against the rocks that were stopping it from flowing freely.

"I remember it so clearly," she said, catching Gary off guard. He looked at her puzzlingly and wondered what on earth she could mean.

"Remember what?" he asked, unprepared for her answer. Her forehead scrunched up in uncertainty, but taking in a short, deep breath, she continued the conversation.

"The day that you disappeared," she replied.

Gary felt uneasy but eager all of a sudden. He'd never actually thought about the day he disappeared – or, he corrected himself, the day that he was taken from Euphoria. Because he was hidden away in their headquarters for so long, he had no contact with the world outside at all, so to him, it had always been a complete mystery.

"I'd never seen the Professor so distraught," she continued, a gentle frown evident on her face. "He refused to believe it. It was just so random. All of a sudden you had a gone, and that was it. No one was expecting it at all. God, even _Ash _was in pieces… everyone was. It was _huge_, Gary. For months on end, it was all anyone ever talked about."

"Didhe ever talk about it?"

"The Professor did, of course, but very subtly. Lots of stories arose about your disappearance, Gary. You know, people claiming they'd seen you and others predicting that you were dead," she said, swallowing hard at the last part. "But he continued to hold hope. Whatever was thrown at him, he refused to believe that you were dead. He, Ash and Daisy were the only ones that refused to believe the rumours. Ash would always say to me that you were a fighter and damn too stubborn to be killed."

He laughed at Ash's way of describing himself. They'd never been the _best _of friends as kids, but deep down, he'd always cared for Ash, no matter how stubborn he was at times. He was quite surprised at how devastated Ash appeared to be about his disappearance. They might have become civil with each other during their younger years, but he still didn't think Ash thought of him that highly – not with the way that he'd treated him, anyway.

"Daisy said that, too," Misty said, smiling softly. "About a year after you'd been taken, I went over to visit the Professor because I hadn't seen him since, and that was the first time I actually met your sister."

"You'd never met her before then?" Gary asked astoundingly.

"No. I knew you had a sister, but it was always like she was non-existent. When I met her for the first time, my opinion on the event completely changed. She said she'd never had full support from a girl before, so she told me just about everything – how she was coping, what she thought about it all… everything."

Gary started to feel a heavy lump form in his chest. For years, he hadn't thought about his past – he'd been trained not to. Now was the first time he'd really thought back to his family. Daisy was such a sensitive person – she put both people_ and_ Pokémon before herself and was always willing to help those in need. Come to think of it, he couldn't think of a single bad thing to say about his sister.

"She said she _knew _that you weren't dead because with whatever reason you had been taken, you wouldn't give up without a fight. Talking to Daisy that day actually made _me _believe that, too."

_Daisy would be disappointed in you._

Gary tried to block out the loud, deafening voice in the conscious state of his mind. It had haunted him ever since he'd first begun working for Euphoria, constantly forcing him to carry on and accept the person he had become.

_She doesn't know me anymore, _Gary tried fighting back, choosing to defy the voice's words. He turned his gaze away from Misty and found his mind drifting back to the past;

"_It's really quite simple, Gary. You have two choices – either work for me and Euphoria, or see your family and Pokémon killed. Now, be a smart boy and make the right decision."_

He hesitated as he replayed Salamere's words in his head.

_I didn't have a chance to fight back._

"Gary?"

He shot his head around to Misty again and noticed she looked disturbed. She'd been watching him intently, and her hand was placed gently on his knee. Smirking subtly, he leant back and rested on his elbows. She eyed him curiously and breathed in deeply, and as the sky started to cloud up, she realised she had something yet to do.

"Thanks for saving me, Gary."

Gary's stomach lurched – his facial expression became numb, and all he could do was stare directly into her eyes. Saving her? What was she talking about? Misty looked to the floor and a look of guilt washed over her face, so sitting himself up, he leaned in closer to her, the interest in her words overpowering him.

"If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be alive right now," she admitted. "I know that at first I was a bit apprehensive about you, but I realise now you're truly doing the right thing."

For a short moment, he'd almost forgotten that he was still lying to her – talking about his past had distracted him, and quickly, he had to think of a response. She believed he'd saved her, so he had to make sure she continued to believe that.

"No problem," Gary said hastily, aware of the gut feeling in the pit of his stomach again, growing larger and larger with every second that passed. He chose not to let it get in the way of his act though, because if he did it would be the end for him and more importantly, his Pokémon. Misty then stood up from her spot by the river and made her way over to a secluded area, lying down onto a broken log. Gary followed her and sat next to her, keeping a safe distance away, and looked up at the sky. Heavy clouds had covered what was a clear, burning sunset, and as he closed his eyes, Misty spoke again.

"I wonder if those clouds passed over Cerulean," she pondered, evidently lost in thought. Gary smiled subtly at her words and thought back to the Professor and Daisy, Ash Ketchum, Delia, and finally, the place that he once grew up in.

_I wonder if they passed over Pallet Town, too._

* * *

Author's Note:

There's quite a lot of character development and relationship building in this chapter. What did you think? Leave a review! Oh, and do any of you guys know any way that I can get more readers? It's just I'd love for _Hunt _to get more recognition, you know?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!

Charityx


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

Hi guys! Yeah, it's, ah... it's been a while!

Let's just say that I have had _loads _going on. Literally, my life has been non-stop recently, so I haven't even thought about updating. Work's been hectic, I've been away, a lot's been going on at home so yeah, I've not exactly been in the mood to write! Anyway, I wanted to apologise for my lack of regular updates, but that's the honest truth as to why I haven't been keeping you posted. I'm hoping my life will settle down a bit now and I'll actually have the chance to get a few more chapters written, but I'm not promising anything.

To you, my lovely viewers who are about to read this, I thank you for still wanting to continue on with my story. This isn't the longest chapter, I will admit - it's more like a filler chapter, just because nothing else seemed to fit into this chapter smoothly. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!

Hunt

Chapter 6

The next morning, Gary awoke abruptly and unnerved. For a good hour or so, he had the heavy feeling that he and Misty were being watched by someone, so after a while, enough was enough. He glanced over at Misty's sleeping figure and felt the corner of his lip twitch upwards – she never failed to look radiant. Focusing his attention back on the forest behind him, he crept towards it and slowly reached for the knife that was hooked onto his belt. He crouched down and kept his eyes steady, observing the darkness for any sign of a darker shadow. His head shot around to his left as he crept further into the woodland as he heard a bush rustle. Standing as still as he could, he stared at the bush with glowering eyes – his breath was hitched in his throat and his mouth became dry. Taking silent steps ever so slowly, he came closer and closer, and once he had a better view, he narrowed his eyes. It was almost impossible to see in the early hours of the morning, but he was certain to figure out what was lurking ever so closely to where he and Misty were resting. A twig snapped, and that was it – Gary leapt forward, the knife gripped tightly in his hand and landed behind the bush. He heard someone grunt, and as he felt for their arms, they managed to hit him in the face and Gary felt his teeth collide with his lip. Using his free hand, he held the person down and held the knife towards their face, his heart racing with adrenaline. Then, as the moonlight shone through the branches of the trees, the person's face came into view.

Gary lowered his knife slowly, dropping it onto the floor next to him. His body loosened, and he wiped the sweat from his brow. Releasing his grip, he shuffled away in annoyance and spat onto the floor, trying to rid the taste of blood from his mouth.

"Someone's a bit on edge, eh, Gary?"

"What do _you_ want, Artilius?" Gary asked bitterly, wiping his mouth. He saw Artilius smirk dirtily and anger started rising inside of him – how he wanted to rid that smirk from his pointed, scheming face.

"I'm just checking up on ya – bosses orders," he added quickly, eyeing Gary haughtily.

"Bosses orders, huh? Well, tell the boss that I don't need to have little sneaks like _you _tracking me, Artilius. At this rate, I'll have Misty back to the headquarters in _no _time."

"Well you know what the boss is like, Gary. He's always doubted you," he said smugly. "Nah, I'm just here to make sure you're not running off course, you know what I mean?" he asked sarcastically, a malicious grin spread across his face.

"Ain't gotta worry about that. She's easier than I thought."

Artilius raised his eyebrows and strode over towards the temporary camp that he and Misty had made. He leant against a tree and crossed his arms, licking his lips in a suggestive manner. Gary followed his actions and silently grit his teeth – he didn't like the way Artilius was studying Misty – no, he didn't like it _at all_.

"Have a good catch there, don't cha, Gary?" Artilius asked, now focusing his gaze on him. "You know, maybe I should try and convince the boss that _I _should do this mission, huh? Whatcha think? Might get to have a bit of _fun _with Misty along the way, you know, a bit of _play _here and there…"

Gary continued to stare at Artilius in utter loathing – he wanted nothing more than to strangle him right there, right now, but he couldn't lay a single finger on him, because otherwise his life would be put on the line. The more and more he watched him, the more he felt his face heating up with the anger that was boiling inside of his stomach, but biting his tongue, he held back and waited for Artilius to finish. Artilius chanced one last look at Misty and bit his lip hungrily, and for a split second, Gary thought he was actually going to do something to her.

"I'll let you carry on then, Gary," Artilius finally said after what felt like an eternity. Gary felt his shoulders loosen and his jaw unclench, and shaking off the annoyance that was still evident in his expression, he smirked and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Tell the boss there's nothin' to worry about," he said coolly as he leant against the nearest tree. His gaze met Artilius' once again, and the challenge in his amber coloured eyes showed that Artilius wasn't ready to back down just yet.

"One more thing," he said, taking a step towards Gary. He quickly eyed a silver gadget that was engraved into Gary's armour, but then returned his gaze to his eyes. "You can screw Misty all you want. Make her _scream _for all I care, I know _I _would. But, just remember – don't get too attached, yeah? 'Cause, you know, if _that _happens… things can get rough. And we wouldn't want _that _happening, now would we, Gary?"

Gary eyed him challengingly and stifled a laugh. He shook his head and looked at Artilius incredulously, taken aback by how dirty he really was. Shaking off his aggravation, Gary gave Artilius one last confident smirk.

"You have my word."

"Good," Artilius said frankly as he took a Poke Ball from his pocket and threw it into the air. A Pigeot was released, and as he jumped onto its back, he took one last look at Misty and grinned dirtily.

"Have fun."

And with that, Pigeot rose into the air and within a couple of seconds, it sped off into the dawning sky. Gary watched Artilius disappear, and feeling his fist trembling, he hit it against the tree. He rested his forehead against his arm and shut his eyes tightly.

"_You know, maybe I should try and convince the boss that _I _should do this mission, huh? Whatcha think? Might get to have a bit of _fun _with Misty along the way, you know, a bit of _play _here and there…"_

Artilius' words kept repeating themselves inside Gary's head.

"_You can screw Misty all you want. Make her _scream _for all I care, I know _I _would…"_

He felt sick to the stomach at the thought of Artilius _ever _doing things with Misty – especially _those _sorts of things. No – he didn't want to think about it. The way he spoke about her, like she was some sort of object – it was absolutely disgusting. Was that all he'd come to do – to provoke him and scar him with such senseless and sickening thoughts? Had Salamere _actually _sent him to see how he was doing? Gary _knew _what Artilius was like; selfish, devious, but most of all, sadistic. He loved to see people in pain or being humiliated – he was exactly like his boss.

_Am I meant to be like that?_

Gary often found himself asking this question. He knew that he wasn't, but he'd never admit that to Salamere. He'd learnt that working for Euphoria was a test, a test of survival, and if you didn't pass that test, they'd have no hesitance to rid of you within an instant – you _and _your family. Gary knew his life was with Euphoria now, whether he liked it or not, and he'd always accepted this. He was treated with dignity and respect, but now, all he could do was think about his past life.

_All because of her…_

Misty. She seemed to make so much sense, more sense than he'd come across in a _long _time. She didn't even have to make the effort – she made him discover deep thoughts and feelings that he hadn't thought about since joining Euphoria, and since their conversation by the river yesterday, he couldn't stop thinking about his past. He could never go back – as he'd said to himself time and time again, his home was with Euphoria now. He didn't have a choice, there was _far _too much at risk if he even stepped _foot _into Pallet Town.

But another thing that kept running through his head was why he'd got so angered over Artilius' actions towards Misty. He shouldn't have felt that bothered – he was speaking the truth, to some extent, because Gary _was _only using her. Not for purposes that Artilius had suggested, but he was using her for his mission. She was just a girl, after all, and she was no one special – not to him, anyway.

The feeling of guilt that was constantly planted in his stomach started to pulse and burn stronger than ever, and he grabbed the long tuft of hair at the front of his head in aggravation – it just didn't stop.

He'd never felt this lost before. He was always one that new exactly what he was doing and was quick on the uptake, but the past few days said otherwise. When he first went into the mission he was determined, adamant, careless… now, he didn't know _what _he felt. Everything had suddenly turned – for the better or the worse? Gary didn't know that yet.

He thought back to what his main priority was – getting Misty to the headquarters. No matter what, he _had _to complete this mission. It was what he'd been training towards for years… and Gary wasn't one to give up. Not that easily. All he had to do was manage a couple more days, pull Misty's strings for a little longer and then it would all be over – he wouldn't have to see her again. He had her fooled into thinking that he was truly on the run from Euphoria and that his intentions with her were good, so everything was going smoothly. A few more days, that was it – a few more days and he'd be done.

_Pull it together, Gary. Think of what you're working towards._

He looked at her again and felt his body become heavy.

_That would be easy if only it wasn't her…_

* * *

Author's Note:

I know, it was short, _far _too short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer! Nothing else didn't seem to fit into this chapter, I felt like if I'd added in something else it would break up the story too much and I want to do things properly. I hope that's satisfied you enough until the next update, nonetheless, and I hope to see you all in the near future!

Until then,

Charityx


	8. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

So this chapter has got to be the longest chapter that I've _ever _written. Like, literally. I've been writing all day, I haven't left my computer. Ideas just kept coming, and everything in this chapter fitted together so perfectly. In this chapter there's a big story turner, so watch out - I think you'll enjoy it.

Hunt

Chapter 7

Misty Waterflower opened her eyes by a fraction of a centimetre and crept her vision across the fire that had long since died to the boy on the log opposite her. He was awake, that was for sure, because he was fiddling with what looked like a penknife, flicking it open and closed every few seconds or so. He was staring up into the sky, deep in thought, she assumed, and his expression looked dull and unresponsive. She copied his actions steadily and watched the horizon light up with every passing minute, her breath making small clouds like a Charizard from the brisk coldness of the early morning. The forest around them was still, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft flow of the stream nearby.

She closed her eyes and took in the peace and tranquillity she was blessed to be experiencing at that moment. Nothing seemed to exist anymore – the gym, her sisters, her Pokémon… everything seemed to be a memory, a distant memory that she could still see, taste and hear, all of which had ended so abruptly. It was one of those unexplainable feelings, where you didn't know whether you were alive or dead, or just a spirit wandering aimlessly in a world that didn't even realise you were there. She had no idea what was going to happen to her – she didn't like to think about it. In a way, she was just accepting the small amount of freedom she was still able to have, even if that _did_ mean having to hide from the world with somebody she was growing fonder of day by day.

Gary – calm, secretive, firm… she couldn't help but find herself becoming more and more drawn to him with every second that passed. There was just something about him that allured her to him more than anyone she'd ever come across. Maybe it was the way he put her on edge, or the way he said her name, or the way he had a hold so powerful over her it sent her crumbling on the spot. She was weak around Gary, and somehow, she wanted to feel that weakness more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. She _needed _Gary, that was becoming clear, but there was so much more that she had to discover before giving herself in. No, she wasn't going to be like her sisters, who fell head over heels for any good looking guy that came into view – she had more dignity than that. And besides, it was probably only her mind fooling her into false thinking – he _was _the only company she had around her at the moment. Of course there were no romantic feelings present between her and Gary, although she could sense herself caring for him a lot more than she had first started – whether that was a good thing or not, she didn't know.

He was only protecting her – nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't like fate had brought them together or anything, like in the movies where everything was cinematic and perfect, where falling in love seemed like the easiest thing in the world. No, this wasn't like the movies – well, not like those sorts of movies, anyway. More like a thriller where the characters were constantly on the run from a mental killer that had been let out of an asylum. Except, they were on the run from someone that only wanted to abduct people for the fun of it, or so, that was what she _thought_… what _was _it that Euphoria wanted from the gym leaders, anyway? Was there some huge secret that the League was holding, and the only way to reach it was to get rid of their power? Or was it just for the pure fun of seeing people suffer? Misty didn't know that yet, but she was determined to find out _exactly _what it was that Euphoria wanted, and if that meant being persistent and to some extent irritating, then so be it. She had a right to know, after all – they were looking for her.

She opened her eyes once more and looked at Gary again – he wasn't there. Feeling her stomach drop, she sat up sharply. Where did he go? She didn't even realise he'd gone, she was so lost in thought she had completely blocked everything out. She felt her body relax when she spotted him down by the stream, washing his face and neck. She smiled to herself – he was just so lenient about everything. It was at times like this that she almost forgot that they were both on the run. Gary just had a way of doing that – of making her feel completely at ease. Her breath hitched in her throat when Gary started to unclip his bodysuit, slowly removing the armour piece by piece and laying it in a pile next to him. Misty's stomach started to churn with nervousness – her body had become rigid and her eyes never left his sight. Her mouth dropped open slightly when he removed the final piece of clothing that covered the upper half of his body, the black, long sleeved top falling to the ground. He stretched his arms over his head and took in a deep breath for what seemed like infinity and splashed the cold water onto his body.

God, he was beautiful.

She tried to force herself to look away, but her mind said otherwise. She was frozen to the spot, her eyes unable to leave the boy in front of her. He was just so immaculate – his body was perfectly defined, and the way his cargo pants hung loosely around his waist made her stomach churn in ways she'd never felt before. Who knew that somebody so guarded could be so flawless?

He bent down to pick up the clothes that had landed on the floor and started to make his way back up towards the camp. Misty jumped and fell back down onto the log, trying to make herself look as still as possible. Her heart was thumping loudly, and she felt the heat in her face rise and rise – she couldn't let him know that she had just been eyeing him up, could she?

Taking in a deep breath, she stirred her body and slowly opened her eyes – if she was ever any good at acting, she'd find out now. Gary was sitting on the log opposite, his armour put back into place, and she felt her heart jump at the pure sight of him. How was she ever going to act casual after watching _that?_

She sleepily sat up, avoiding his strong gaze. He half smirked and walked over towards her and sat on the end of her log.

"I was just about to get you up," he said, arching his neck slightly to look at her. She looked away quickly to hide the blush that she could evidently feel getting worse and worse – what the bloody hell was wrong with her?

"We need to keep moving," she said bluntly, staring at the ashes in the middle of the ground. Gary sighed – he was starting to get bored of putting her through the same routine each day, but he didn't have a choice. He held out his hand, and as she looked from the fire to his face, her shoulders fell completely.

"I'm sorry," he said as she grasped her hand in his. He helped her up and studied her face for a moment before untangling his grip. "It's the only way we'll be able to do this. We can't chance staying here for any longer."

"I know," Misty said half-heartedly. She tightened her jacket around her body and followed Gary into the woodland, watching his face with suspicion. Something was… different. A dark mark was on the bottom of his chin, and his lip appeared to be swollen.

"Gary, what happened to your lip?" she asked. Gary shot his head around to her and froze for a second – he'd completely forgotten about his run in with Artilius.

"Fell over last night," he said casually, continuing on in his tracks. Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her.

"You did _that _just by falling over?" Misty questioned, taking a closer look. "Gary, that looks painful. Why haven't you used some of the revival potion?"

"Misty, it's only a cut," he said, holding her shoulders. "Yeah, it's a bit bruised, but look at me. I'm okay, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm saving the revival potion for when we actually _need _it," he said. "A cut can heal itself within a couple of days, Misty. If you're put in danger again, then I'll need the potion to save you, won't I?"

"You're saving it for me?"

"Of course, who else would I be saving it for?"

"I don't know. I just didn't think I was important, that's all."

Gary looked at Misty perplexedly. Was she _really _that concerned about a little cut? If it wasn't for Artilius they never would have had this conversation in the first place, and as Gary thought back to their encounter last night, it riled him up instantly.

"Misty, what's the whole point of me being with you at this very moment?"

"You're protecting me from Euphoria."

"Exactly – I'm _protecting _you, Misty. So that means making sure you don't get hurt or taken, am I right?"

"Okay, Gary, I get it," she said defiantly. "I was only trying to look out for _you _for a change."

At this, Gary gave up with trying to be sarcastic with her.

"Thanks," he said, giving her a playful smile. He focused his attention back on the forest and led Misty along a narrow path that seemed to take them lower and lower. The trees now towered over them more than ever, and the light was struggling to fit through the tiny gaps. A damp, mossy smell now filled the air, and as they continued on, they came to a small, rocky entrance to what looked like a cave.

"I think this takes us underground," Gary said, squinting to see if he could see anything beyond the darkness. It proved to fail, but as Gary observed the forest around them, there seemed to be no other way that they could go. "If we go through here, it'll lead us out towards the mountains. We'll be secluded there."

"It just gets better," Misty said sarcastically. Gary couldn't help but laugh at the bluntness of her words – she seemed to finally accept whatever was thrown at her. Of course, Gary knew _exactly _where they were. The cave they were about to enter _did _take them underground, but at the end of it, they were nearer to Gary's meeting point with Euphoria – a few miles out of the cave and his mission would be over.

"Come on, the sooner we get this over with the better."

Gary took a small device from his belt and placed it onto the top of his hand. It turned out to be a torch-like object, and using his other hand to grab hold of Misty's, he led her into the entrance.

Darkness suddenly engulfed them – Misty felt her pupils dilate to the sudden light change and she gripped onto Gary's hand even tighter. His steps were steady, careful not to tread anywhere unstable, and he shone the torch around the cave to see any type of movement.

"We've gotta be careful not to disturb the Pokémon that live in here," he explained, never taking his sight away from their surroundings. Misty nodded her head and continued to follow his lead, bringing her body in closer to him – she felt extremely vulnerable if she wasn't near to him. Gary stopped at shone the torch at the floor. The path became narrower and the ground on their right couldn't be seen – all that was visible was eternal darkness.

"Be careful, Misty," he said, still holding her hand. He rested his back against the wall and started to shuffle along the path sideways, constantly watching his footing. He stopped for a moment to see how far it went on for, and saw that about ten feet away the path became normal again.

"Misty, I'm gonna have to let go of your hand for a moment, but I want you to follow my lead."

"Okay," she said hesitantly but confidently, looking down over the edge of the path. She copied his actions and flattened herself against the wall as much as she could, taking baby steps along the path. Gary was a few feet ahead of her, almost at the end when he stopped hastily – some of the path crumbled and fell over the edge. After a few seconds, he carried on, looking to his right to check that Misty was okay.

"We're almost there," he said, his voice echoing throughout the cave. She didn't say anything but nodded and took extra care in avoiding the area of the path that crumbled. Gary had reached stable ground again and let out a huge breath he had been holding. He turned around to face Misty and grinned, reaching out to grab her hand.

"A few more steps," he said reassuringly. She looked down at her feet and then back up at his hand. Swiftly, she grabbed it and felt the churning in her stomach ease a little. Then, she stopped and her eyes widened – part of the path that her right foot was on broke away, and the next thing she felt was her body being lurched downwards.

"No!" Gary yelled, heaving himself forward and taking his other hand to grab Misty's arm.

"Gary!" she screamed, looking up at him in panic. She was hanging over the edge, clinging onto Gary's arms as tight as she could – he gritted his teeth in agony as he used all the strength he had to try and pull her up.

"Misty, I need you to work with me!" he said, tightening his grip even further. "Kick your foot up onto the ledge, I don't have anything to grab onto to help pull you up!"

He felt his body slowly being carried forward further towards the edge of the path and used his elbows to try and cause some friction.

"Please, Misty, try and do it!" he said desperately, looking into her eyes. She nodded briskly and swung herself towards the edge in front of her but didn't manage to get a grip of the rocky surface.

"That's it, try again!" Gary said encouragingly, his sight never leaving hers. After one more swing, her foot managed to grip onto a small rock and a glimpse of relief washed over her face.

"Okay, now push your foot down with all your strength, Misty, I'll pull you up!"

She pushed her foot down and felt herself being pulled up onto the path's edge. Gary never let go of her arm and pulled with all his might, when finally, she crashed beside him. He felt his body become limp and he rested his head against the floor, closing his eyes in exhaustion. Misty's breathing was heavy and her body was shaken up, but she tried her best to steady herself as quickly as she could.

"It's okay," he said, his own breathing heavy. "It's over, Misty."

Her breathing started to slow and her body was gradually removed from its tense state. Gary tilted his head so that he was looking at her and relaxed when he saw that she was starting to relax – she laid on her back and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry," she said, disappointment in her voice. She turned to look at him and gave him a displeased look – he smiled reassuringly and sat up, Misty following his actions. He then smirked and started to laugh, causing Misty to laugh along with him.

"You klutz," he said, grinning broadly. She laughed even more and punched him on the shoulder playfully, covering her face with her hands. When she looked up at him again, a look of significance washed over her.

"You saved my life again," she said, almost helplessly.

For a moment, Gary didn't know what to say. Then, he started laughing and looked to the floor, repeating her words in his head.

"I guess I did."

He stood and took Misty's hand, helping her up. Her gaze never left his – it was soft and thankful, but a hint of playfulness still lingered. He gave her a smirk and then nodded his head in the direction that led them further into the cave, taking hold of her hand again.

"We'll make a stop," he said, shining the torch around them. He took a seat against the wall and patted the space next to him for Misty to sit. She joined him and rested her head against the wall, keeping a small distance between them, but not too big.

"So," he said, turning his head towards Misty. He eyed her challengingly and smirked, moving closer to her. "What's it like being a gym leader?"

Misty paused for a moment. Throughout the whole time that she and Gary had been together, they'd never actually spoken about her life before she was taken – or his, for that matter. They'd only ever spoken about the situation they were currently in, or how people had reacted to Gary's disappearance. They'd never stopped to talk about something else, and for the first time, Misty felt warm inside from the thought about her home.

"It has its perks," she said, grinning. "But a lot of the time it's just trainers beginning out on their journeys that are easy to defeat."

"They're easy, huh?"

"Yes! And not forgetting to mention _extremely _cocky too," she said. "Why, do you doubt my ability as a gym leader, Gary?"

"Not at all," he said smugly.

"Good. You know, a lot of them remind me of how _you _were as a kid."

"Cocky?"

"Yes."

"Arrogant?"

"Yes."

"Ridiculously good looking?"

"Ye- what? Shut up!"

"So you don't deny it?"

"Deny what?"

"That I'm good looking."

"Well… no, I guess."

From the little amount of light that was present, Gary could see that a gentle colour of pink had formed on Misty's cheeks. He was surprised from how open she was about it – he had expected her to instantly deny it.

"Well, that's good then."

Misty smiled sheepishly and continued on their conversation.

"To be honest, I miss travelling a lot. There's just so much freedom when you're travelling, you know, the ability to do whatever you want and go wherever you please… you don't have anything holding you back."

"Your sisters can't take over the gym?"

"Please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I don't think they've ever won a single battle. They just hand out badges when they run the gym, even if the challenger doesn't win."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna reminisce on _my _encounter with them as a kid."

Misty laughed at this. Although she loved her sisters to pieces, she knew they were completely useless at battling – that's why they were so famous with what they were doing now. Her smile faltered as she thought more about them. They'd be hysterical right now, knowing that she was gone. And, she never thought she'd say it, but she actually missed them.

"D'you miss travelling with Ashy-boy?"

Misty gave him an amused look. She couldn't believe that after all these years, Gary still referred to Ash as 'Ashy-boy'.

"I'll be truthful, yes," she said, half-heartedly. "But, I knew it was time for me to return to the gym… even if I didn't want to. But, you know," she said, eyeing Gary challengingly, "I can't help but feel like I'm travelling again, except this time with you."

"Imagine what Ash would say to that? Finding out his best friend is travelling with his rival."

"Well, knowing Ash, he'd be _extremely _jealous and want to settle things in a Pokémon battle."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Gary said, laughing at how spot on her words were. A slight pause arose between the two before Misty continued on their conversation.

"He used to hate you, you know."

Gary eyed her cautiously.

"You were always so self-absorbed and conceited. You just didn't stop teasing him about how you were better at everything."

"I was a horrible kid," Gary said, bringing one leg towards him. "In all honesty, I had a pretty good reason to act the way I did."

He paused and set his gaze to the floor. For some reason, all the energy he had before had drained from his body – his mouth had become dry and a lump was sat right in the middle of his throat, stopping any more words from coming out.

"Gary?"

Misty had placed her hand upon his and was watching him intently, cautiously.

"It's nothin', don't worry about it."

She furrowed her brows together but chose not to question him any further. He felt the warmth of her hand leave his, and an awkward silence was left lingering in the air. He knew that she'd been hoping that he would carry on with what he was going to say, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. They continued to sit in silence until Misty asked him something that left him completely baffled.

"What's your purpose, Gary?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your purpose – what is it?"

"What do you mean by purpose?"

"Everyone has a purpose in life. It could be anything – it's something that changes your life, but most importantly, it changes you."

He took a few seconds to register her words – a purpose? He'd never really thought about it… heck, he'd never even _heard _about having a purpose in life. Furrowing his brows, he decided to turn the question on her.

"What's _your_ purpose, then?"

She met his gaze but then slowly looked away, her own then turning distant.

"I'm still waiting to find out. Nobody knows what their purpose is until it happens. And once it happens, you'll know – you just feel it. It makes you want to do well, be a better person. I _know _there's something out there that's destined to change my life, to change _me. _I just don't know what it is yet."

"So how'd you know about all this, huh?" Gary asked. He was intrigued, that was for sure – it was something new to him, and he was eager to find out what she meant.

She looked hesitant for a moment, but nonetheless carried on.

"Well, because my dad found _his _purpose," she said, deep in thought. "I don't really remember my parents before they died, but when I was little, Daisy used to tell me all about them. She'd tell me all about their lives and what sort of people they were – to me, it was mesmerising. It gave me assurance, in a way, because they seemed to be so mature, which was something that I wasn't used to at home."

"I bet, seeing as your sisters had to bring you up," Gary said.

"Exactly," Misty said, stifling a laugh. "I loved learning about my mom – she was so similar to me it's like we're almost the same person."

"I take it she was hot-headed, too?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Misty said, grinning. "But her _whole _outlook on life was the same as mine – she loved water Pokémon, she loved travelling the regions… not forgetting to mention that I look almost _identical _to her."

Gary observed the way she spoke about her mom. A distant look appeared in her eyes, like she was in a daydream, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling – Gary was captivated.

"What about your dad?"

"My dad had a completely different story. Before he met my mom, life wasn't looking too great, according to Daisy. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, his parents had practically _disowned _him. He was a mess."

"I know the feeling – not having anyone there for you."

"Yeah… but then my mom came along. We're not quite sure _how _they met, but as soon as they did, he changed. Mom made him realise that he had a lot of potential and that he didn't need to throw his life away. He was a great battler, so she gave him the challenge of defeating all the gym leaders in Kanto and she made him _promise _that he wouldn't give up on her. So, that's exactly what he did – he defeated them all and turned his life around, all because of one person."

Gary looked in front of him with furrowed brows – it was interesting learning about Misty's past and upbringing as he'd never known the girl well enough before, and to know that Misty could hardly remember anything about her parents at all saddened him in a way – she seemed far too kind to have to miss out on a proper upbringing. His thoughts were shortly interrupted as Misty continued to explain herself.

"What I'm trying to say is that my mom was his purpose, Gary. She saw the good in him when no one else did – that's why there just _has _to be something out there that's gonna change my life, and there's something out there for you, too."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "I've already found my purpose – working for Euphoria. Look at how _that _changed everything."

"That's not true," Misty persisted. "There's something better out there for you. You're running from Euphoria because you _know _it isn't your future, Gary. You haven't found your purpose. Not yet."

_But I'm not running from them…_

There was a slight pause in the air. Gary was repeating her words silently to himself – he had her completely fooled that he was running from them and trying to protect her when in reality, he was doing the complete opposite.

"My parents died too, you know. Supposedly it was in a car crash, but for some reason, I can't help but think that there's more to it."

"What makes you think that?" Misty questioned.

"Their bodies were never found. The car was, but they were nowhere to be seen. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just have that feeling."

"Do you remember them much?"

Gary smiled faintly.

"Yeah, but only vaguely. Dad was a trainer and he held battles at our house so that he could still be with us. As for my mom, well, she was your typical house-wife. She'd stay at home and cook and clean, constantly making sure Daisy and I kept out of trouble."

"Sounds a bit like Ash's mom," Misty said, the corner of her lip twitching upwards.

"She was, in some ways," Gary admitted, shuffling his position slightly. "She had the same cheery attitude and was always checking up on us. Daisy idolised her, so as you can imagine, when she died, Daisy just couldn't grasp it… neither could I."

Misty's eyebrows furrowed as she looked to the floor. She used the arm that wasn't upon Gary's to move herself closer to him and then she relaxed again.

"Can I ask you something?"

Their gaze met.

"Go ahead."

"In all honesty, I never knew that your parents had died. I never even questioned why you lived with the Professor – I guess it was because I didn't really know you. But was their death the reason why you were so troubled as a kid?"

Gary breathed in deeply.

"Yeah," he said, smiling weakly. "When they died, I was so confused. I didn't understand why it had to happen to me. All of a sudden, my whole life was turned upside down, just like that. Daisy and I had to move in with Gramps, and I just… lost it. I was angry, upset, in denial… and that's when I turned into the arrogant kid I was. I thought that the only way I'd be able to get over it would be to act like a jerk all the time and like it didn't bother me."

"But why did you turn on other people? Ash, for example – what did he do that was so bad?"

"He didn't do _anything_, Misty," Gary said. "It was jealousy. He had everything that I didn't – a loving mom, good friends… even Gramps idolised him. So, that day when we had an argument about the Poke Ball, I just turned on him for no reason at all."

Misty stared at him in astonishment – all these things Gary had been hiding made everything become clear all of a sudden. She always knew there was a reason behind everything in life, and she'd just discovered Gary's. He was never just a jerk for the fun of it – he was a jerk because of an event that had scarred him so young.

"I wish I knew you before, Gary – before all of this. I used to judge you a lot, but now I know why you were so difficult. And I'm sorry for that. I truly am."

She looked guilty. Gary smiled and put his arm around her, smiling encouragingly.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," he said. "If anything, you've made me think about things today that I haven't thought about in a long time – so I thank you for that, Misty."

She smiled at his words and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Your parents would be proud of you, Gary. For choosing what's right."

Gary's smile vanished. The gut feeling returned again, and his throat became hoarse.

_No they wouldn't…_

"Misty… I haven't told you the truth about why I started working for Euphoria."

She lifted her head and gave him a questioning look.

"For the first year that I was gone, I was on the run, pretty much like we are now, but Euphoria eventually caught up. I was knocked out, and when I woke again, I was in some sort of chamber. I was chained to the floor and I ached all over – I think they'd been beating me while I was knocked out," Gary said, quivering slightly at the thought. "Anyway, my boss entered the chamber with a few guards, and that's when everything changed."

He thought back to that day and Salamere's threat.

"He threatened me by giving me two choices – either stay with them and train to become a Euphoria official, or see Gramps and Daisy get killed, my Pokemon and myself shortly after. That day, I didn't have a _choice_, Misty. I couldn't put Gramps and Daisy's lives in danger – I'd never forgive myself. So I agreed to work with them."

"Gary," Misty said, looking at him in empathy. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I couldn't, Misty. With the state you were in, that's the _last _thing I could've told you. You never would've trusted me if I'd told you that."

Misty looked Gary dead in the eye.

"I trust you with my _life,_ Gary," she said firmly. "I didn't at first, but I've learnt _so _much about you. I've put every ounce of faith I have into you, Gary, and I'll continue doing that no matter _how _long it takes us to get out of this."

He stared hard into her eyes – they were full of confidence and honesty, something that Gary hadn't seen in Misty before, and as he thought back to his mission, he swallowed hard.

"My mission is to protect you, Misty," he said sternly. "That's what I've set out to do, so I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that you're safe, even if that means risking my own life."

"I know," Misty said assertively.

Gary's expression became motionless. He didn't know how much longer he could take it – lying to Misty right through his teeth. He was honestly starting to care for the girl, and as he thought through the fate ahead of her one last time, he finally made a firm conclusion.

It just wasn't right. No, he wasn't pretending anymore – he was truly protecting her now.

_I can't do this anymore._

He silently removed a silver gadget from his body armour. A blue light was flashing from the top of it every few seconds, and, swallowing hard, Gary switched a button on the side – the blue light stopped flashing, signalling that Euphoria could no longer keep track of his progress. Shutting his eyes tightly, Gary dropped it onto the floor.

_Crack._

The tracker no longer flashed and fizzled out into a small puff of smoke - kicking the rest of it over the edge, Gary joined Misty back on the floor of the cave and looked into the darkness in front of him.

There was no way Euphoria could find him without his tracker. And now, it truly was a test of survival.

He was on the run.

* * *

Author's Note:

I absolutely _loved _writing this chapter. A lot's revealed about Misty's life and the truth behind Gary's arrogance as a kid. That's only the first half of it, though! In the coming chapters, _a lot _more is going to be discovered about Gary's past, a bit of a twist to the story, I guess you could say. This chapter was actually inspired by a song I know called _Fade Into Darkness _by Avicii. Go and listen to it - the lyrics relate to this chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. Please please _please _leave me a review to let me know what you think, I honestly put all of my heart into this! I'm pretty sure updates are going to be much more regular now because I actually have the time to write, so I'll try my best not to let you guys down! After all, you guys are what make me carry on.

Thank you so much!

Until next time (which will be soon),

Charityx


	9. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for patiently waiting for me to update – life has been absolutely mental, to be honest. Something big happened around October last year, which caused me to go completely numb with pretty much everything. I haven't been able to think straight, so writing the next chapter for _Hunt _I found extremely difficult. But, I'm back, and I'm in a good frame of mind and I'm ready to start writing again!

I'm just going to give you all a quick recap on the story so far, seeing as it _has _been a while:

Gary Oak went missing four years ago – exactly a year after he disappeared, gym leaders were being abducted by a group called Euphoria. Gary was captured by Euphoria and has been training up with them to go on a mission to abduct one of the gym leaders which happens to be Misty Waterflower. He needs to convince her that he is trying to save her from them when really he is leading her to their headquarters. As time goes on, Gary has a change of heart and starts to care for Misty a lot more than he first planned, causing him to make a big decision – stop the mission altogether.

I really do hope this chapter is worth the wait. I've put absolutely _everything _into it because you guys deserve only the best! This is where everything turns, so watch out – I hope it will put you on the edge of your seat.

Hunt

Chapter 8

Misty woke abruptly in total darkness. It took her a while to regain consciousness, but once she had, her eyes slowly adjusted to the pathetic amount of light available. Her body was being shaken quite forcefully by someone, putting her straight into panic – something was wrong.

"Misty, we need to leave," Gary said sternly, holding onto her shoulders tightly. She looked up at him and saw that he looked completely and utterly restless – his skin was pale, his posture was uptight and his voice was strict.

"Gary, what's happened?" Misty asked, holding onto him as he helped her up. He brushed a hand through his hair nervously and threw his rifle gun back over his shoulder.

"We can't risk moving on any further through this cave," he said, checking his weapons belt to ensure that he had everything. "I've got a really bad feeling about this, Misty, and I'm not gonna take any risks."

"You're on edge, Gary," she said, furrowing her brows as he grabbed her hand and started leading her back the way they came. "We've been fine so far so what's made you change your mind all of a sudden?"

"This isn't the time to start questioning me, Misty," Gary said restlessly, shining his torch on the path ahead of them. "Just follow my lead and don't say a word."

Misty's stomach started to churn – something was _definitely _wrong. Gary's whole personality had suddenly changed within a matter of hours, and Misty wasn't entirely sure what had caused it. Something must have happened while she was sleeping, because as far as she knew, Gary was positive that going through the cave was the best way to go. Before she had fallen asleep, Gary had been calm, open and extremely gentle, only now he was stern, tense and isolated. He wasn't in the mood for talking at all – he'd told her so himself.

He slowed down when he came to the bit of path that Misty had slipped on earlier and did exactly what he did before, instead keeping hold of Misty's hand. Steadily and carefully he made his way across the path, Misty following closely behind until they reached safer ground. More light slowly started to come into view as they reached the entrance of the cave, and Misty had to shield her vision for a moment to stop her eyes from stinging.

Gary was like a machine – he powered through the thick forest and back up the steep path without uttering a word. His hold on Misty had started to grate on her as it got tighter and tighter. She felt herself starting to get wound up – the last thing she needed was to lose her temper. Things had been going so well – they'd been moving smoothly and safely without any problems, and all of a sudden, it was as if she was with a completely different person. She felt herself start to pant when they neared the top of the path and desperately tried to slow down, but Gary ignored her. He continued to drag her along without looking back at her, and Misty was suddenly reminded of the night that he had taken her.

"Gary, that is _enough,_" Misty said harshly, sinking the heels of her feet into the soft ground to force Gary to face her. He halted to a stop and roughly turned around to face her, dread present in his expression.

"Misty, I told you, don't say a word right now," he said callously, inching his face towards hers. "We need to find a different route, and fast. Euphoria are close by – I just know it."

"But _how _do you know that?" Misty asked, refusing to listen to Gary's commands.

"Misty, you have to trust me on this!" Gary said desperately, grabbing onto his hair. "They're close and I know it, okay? I've been on the run from them for years so I think I know what I'm doing!"

"Well it sure doesn't seem like it! A few hours ago you were absolutely fine! You were the calmest that I'd ever seen you and now all of a sudden you're back to being an asshole? That isn't normal, Gary!"

"I'm not being an asshole, Misty, I'm following my instinct!" Gary bellowed, staring into her eyes. "If we go back through that cave they'll be waiting for us on the other side, I just know it! We _have _to find another route, somewhere as far away from here as possible!"

"Well stop shouting at me then! Gary, for the first time throughout this _whole _situation I felt _safe_, and now you've gone and screwed that right up!"

"This isn't the time to argue, Misty!" Gary shouted, starting to get tired of Misty's persistence. "If we don't get a move on then Euphoria will track us down within no time and _that_ is certain!"

"Then stop treating me like dirt, Gary! Why are you so mad?"

"I'm mad because I care too much for you to get hurt, Misty!"

Gary and Misty both paused – for what seemed like forever, they stared into each other's eyes, reading into each other's thoughts. The forest around them seemed to disappear and time seemed to stop. Gary studied Misty's face and felt his shoulders loosen – she looked completely taken aback, her bottom lip trembling. He couldn't risk losing her – not now. She was far too important to him now, that he was sure of. He knew that as soon as he'd destroyed his tracker Euphoria would have noticed and would instantly be on their way to where he was last seen, so he had to move Misty as quickly as possible. He never wanted to argue with her – heck, that was the _last _thing he wanted to do. He realised how odd it must have been for her to suddenly wake up and be dragged back through the way they came – of course it wouldn't make any sense, but this time, she _really _had to cooperate with him.

"I can't risk losing you, Misty," he said weakly, his body loosening. "You have to trust me."

Misty looked at him sincerely – she was at a loss for words. She didn't realise how important she actually was to Gary. He was very guarded and often kept his thoughts and feelings to himself, so she could never truly understand _what _he felt towards her. She'd never seen him so alarmed before – his whole aura put her on edge and made her want to shut her eyes tight and completely forget about everything. Of course she trusted him, but right now he was without a doubt hiding something from her, and she wasn't sure whether or not she liked that. However, as Misty continued to look into Gary's warm, heartfelt eyes, all of the anger she was feeling drained from her body entirely – he'd kept her safe for this long and she was positive that that wasn't going to change.

"I _do _trust you," Misty said, caressing her hands down Gary's arms softly. He looked down at her with liberation and held her shoulders gently, carefully making his way up towards her face. His thumb stroked the outline of her chin, letting Misty feel absolutely at ease.

"Then let me do this," Gary said, holding her face.

Misty gave him a placid smile and grabbed hold of his hand. Giving her a hesitant nod, Gary continued on in his path, leading Misty through what seemed like endless amounts of shrubbery, bushes and trees that made it hard for her to remember whether they'd already been past them before. Eventually, Misty could hear the running of water, gushing and splashing as it made its way downstream – it was amazing how such a simple sound could make her smile so much.

The trees started to clear and Gary and Misty then found themselves at a dead end – a large cliffside stood in front of them, leaving them nowhere to go but down. The current of the river below them was extremely strong, smashing against the edge of the cliff with great force. Gary furrowed his brows – this wasn't going to be easy. As he looked to his left, he followed the path alongside the cliff a few feet and looked far into the distance of the river. He could see that it continued on into lower ground, taking them out of sight of the mountains and into much larger forestry – this would be perfect for a hideout.

"You're not gonna like this," Gary said, watching the river intently. Misty looked at him indecisively and followed his gaze – as much as she loved the water, she wasn't so sure about it this time. The current looked rough – too rough for her liking. She already knew what Gary was going to suggest, but out of hope, she asked him anyway.

"We've got to jump, haven't we?"

Gary looked up at her and couldn't help but smirk – she was starting to read him like a book. Taking in a deep breath, he looked further over the edge to see whether or not there was any danger other than the strong current, and when all was clear, he looked up at Misty positively.

"It's the only way, Misty," he said, approaching her. "If we do this, we'll be able to go into deeper forest. We'll be much safer there."

"Gary, I'm not so sure about this," she said, trying to reason with him. "I may be a good swimmer, but that current's strong – _really _strong. That could take us under within seconds."

"Isn't life all about taking chances?"

Misty paused and quirked her brow – he was such a cocky bastard at times.

_"We can't risk being seen," Gary said, looking out towards the distance. Misty followed to where his eyes were looking and understood his suggestion. They'd reached the end of the woodland, and all that stood before them was tall grass and open land._

_"Well, it looks like there's no other way," Misty reasoned, stepping beside him. "Isn't life all about taking chances?"_

He didn't forget a thing, did he? Repeating her words was surely just a way to wind her up. When she'd asked Gary to take a chance of going into open ground there wasn't any risk of them actually killing themselves – this, however, was on a whole new level of danger.

"Fine," she said, raising her hands in defeat. "But if you kill me because of this then I'll be sure to haunt you for the rest of your life."

"I wouldn't doubt that for a minute," Gary said, a smug smirk playing at his lips. He watched Misty look over the cliffside one more time, and taking in a deep breath, she nodded confidently.

Before she could say anything, a loud gunshot echoed through the forest.

Gary's head snapped around to his right, his eyes observing their surroundings like a hawk.

_It can't be._

Misty completely froze – she stared at Gary in terror, her body rigid. His own posture was firm and strong, his hand slowly moving towards the rifle gun slung over his shoulder. Another gunshot was released hitting a tree just inches away from Misty.

"Duck, Misty!" Gary bellowed, running towards her. He shielded her with his own body, alert and ready for whatever was going to be thrown at them. Then, above the trees, he spotted what he was waiting for; Artilius was flying towards them on Pigeot with a gun in hand.

Gary shot his own rifle gun – Artilius' response was quick, too quick for Gary, causing him to miss by a large amount. He flew out of sight for a moment, so Gary had to act fast.

"Get ready to jump!" he yelled, grabbing Misty tightly around the waist. Without further hesitation she nodded her head and ran towards the edge of the cliffside with Gary, clinging onto him as tightly as she could. As she leaped off the edge, time seemed to stop – they flew through the air in what seemed to be slow motion, the force pushing down on them and causing Misty to lose grip of Gary's hand – as the water came closer, she braced herself for the coldness and force that the current would bring. Gulping in as much breath as she could, she closed her eyes tight, and as her body hit the water, it felt as if a thousand needles were being pierced into her body.

As the breath was almost sucked out of her, Misty went into shock.

Managing to pull herself up to the surface, Misty desperately tried looking around for Gary but couldn't see him – she was travelling downstream at an alarming rate, and right above her, she spotted the man from before who tried shooting them.

"Gary!" she screamed, using all of her strength to stop herself from getting pulled underneath the water again. "Gary!"

"Misty!"

She jolted round and spotted Gary a few feet behind her, travelling down the current at a much slower pace.

"Misty, I'm coming!" he shouted, trying his best to swim as fast as he could to catch up with her. A look of fright crossed her face as she looked upwards – it was enough to tell him that Artilius was right behind him.

"No!" he bellowed, reaching towards his back to grab his rifle gun.

He froze.

His rifle gun had been lost with the force of the current, and Artilius was aiming straight towards Gary.

Out of instinct, Gary ducked beneath the water, trying to go as deep as he could. He could hear the gunshot hit the water – if he had been any later it would've hit him. Rising to the surface again, he struggled to catch his breath. He spotted Artilius' Pigeot shooting down towards Misty, Artilius' gun in aim.

"Misty, dive underwater, quickly!"

Taking no time to hesitate, Misty took in a deep breath and vanished beneath the water – Gary grit his teeth in anticipation and felt his body starting to quiver from the freezing temperature of the liquid surrounding him, but powering through it, he kicked as hard as he could to reach Misty. Her head rose out of the water once more and Gary noticed she was paling minute by minute – her lips were turning blue from the lack of blood flow and her swimming strength was becoming weaker and weaker.

"Gary, help!" she shouted, using all of her might to reach him. He reached out his arm as hard as he could ready to grab onto her, and out of pure luck, he managed to grip onto her wrist.

"Don't let me go!" Misty said desperately, clinging onto Gary for dear life. He shielded his arms around her and looked up – Artilius was still gaining on them and he wasn't going to give up anytime soon. The river didn't seem to be getting any smoother, so Gary realised that there was only one thing left that could possibly save them.

"Misty, I need you to listen to me!" he said as loud as he could, using one arm to support her body and one arm to hold her face. "Whatever happens, I want you to know that we're gonna get through this, I'm not gonna let them harm you!"

"It's over, Gary!" she said helplessly, tears starting to form in her eyes. "They've found us!"

"No!" he shouted, using both of his hands to hold her face, kicking as hard as he possibly could to keep himself upright. "They haven't, not yet! I'm not gonna let that bastard up there ruin this, not this time!"

Another gunshot missed Gary by a centimetre – he had to act fast.

"I need you to swim with me, Misty, as deep as you can go! It'll make it harder for him to see us!"

She looked apprehensive before responding, but a look of determination was swimming through her eyes.

"I'll try," Misty said. She looked completely drained – Gary prayed that she'd be able to see this through. She didn't deserve this – it was all his fault. He'd promised to protect her, and at that moment, he'd put her in the biggest danger he could think of. He was a fool to ever think that he'd be one of them – one of Euphoria. He'd _never _be like them – and he was about to prove it.

Grabbing Misty, he pulled her underneath – he could feel her trying her best to swim as deep as she possibly could, clinging onto his back as he used his upper body strength to swim with the current. Darkness engulfed them and gunshots continued to shoot through the water, missing Gary and Misty by centimetres, and all of a sudden, Gary felt a lot lighter.

_No._

As he turned around in the water, he could just about see Misty's body drifting away – she looked limp and lifeless, floating up towards the surface of the river. Gary's lungs tightened and felt as if they were about to explode any second, but forgetting about everything around him, he swam as fast as he could – Misty was his main priority.

As his head burst out of the water, he saw Misty's sunken face floating just above the surface – she was unconscious.

"No!" he shouted, grabbing onto her lifeless figure. He felt his stomach drop and his eyes start to sting – what had he done?

"You _bastard_, Artilius!" he screamed, pulling Misty up onto his shoulders so that she couldn't drown. He saw a large tranquilliser dart sticking out of the back of her neck and a small amount of relief washed over him – she wasn't dead.

"It's over, Gary!"

As Gary looked up one last time at Artilius, he looked him dead in the eyes – pure animosity swam throughout them as Artilius aimed his gun directly at Gary, and as he prepared to be shot, Gary smirked with sarcasm – Artilius had finally gotten what he wanted.

And within the blink of an eye, everything went black.

* * *

Author's Note:

A BIG plot change here – what's going to happen now?

So Gary and Misty have finally been caught by Euphoria – as Gary realised that he cared a lot more for Misty than he first intended, his dedication to his mission slowly grew weaker and weaker. He decided to end it and protect Misty for real, but unfortunately for him, he was too late – Euphoria had outsmarted him and caught up too soon.

Please review, I appreciate it a lot!

Until next time,

Charityx


	10. Chapter 9

Author's Note:

Hi again!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter – that was the big story turner. Just as Gary admitted to his feelings, Euphoria had already caught up. This chapter's going to be quite long and there's _a lot _to take in, so I hope you're ready for it! Get ready for a lot of questions to be answered!

Hunt

Chapter 9

A blur; that's all he could see right now – one big, unclear blur. Gary's mind drifted in and out of consciousness, the area around him becoming clearer and then fading back to nothing repeatedly. When Gary _was _conscious, he couldn't grasp where he was or what had happened – everything had been completely drained from him as if all of his thoughts and memory had been cleared to somewhere else. His body ached tremendously – it felt as if he'd been terminally ill and that his body was slowly dying, wanting to give up all the strength and energy it might have been clinging onto. Gradually, Gary tried his best to move – he started with his fingertips, then his toes and finally, his neck.

He felt his face scrunch up in confusion as he tried to move his neck – it felt as is something was guarding it, pushing into his skin as he tilted it backwards. His thoughts had slowly started to become more distinct than they were before, and for the first time in what felt like ages, Gary had managed to open his eyes a fraction of a centimetre.

They rapidly shot open as soon as Gary had time to adjust to his surroundings. He was in a dark, dimly lit room that had a small opening to the far right. It smelt damp and clammy with the constant droplets of water that were falling from the ceiling and the visibility was seriously reduced – Gary had to squint in order to see exactly where he were.

Within the blink of an eye, Gary's memory started forming in flashbacks – at first, he could see himself in the exact room he was in now, talking to somebody large and overbearing – then, he saw woodland and mountains, and as quickly as they had come, another image scarred his mind, an image of a deep, gushing river ahead of him, almost drowning him with force – these stills raced through his mind like a Rapidash, and then, all at once, they disappeared.

A different image filled his mind – this image was tranquil, calm and bright, like a bursting flame of energy leading him to feel fulfilled and content. It was fierce, strong and determined, and as this bright wave of life rushed through his body, Gary felt his stomach plunge into a pool of guilt.

_Misty._

This time, he jolted out of his mental state and turned his neck sharply to his left – there was Misty, unconscious and feeble. Just like him, she was chained to a chair, her wrists and ankles in cuffs and a large one around her neck. Gary could just about move his head and he thanked Arceus that he was able to see her – it relieved him to know that she was still by his side. As he narrowed his eyes, he could see her chest slowly rising and falling in harmony, her body limp and her expression peaceful. He wished that she could stay like that, unaware of the horror that she was about to wake up to, but this was reality now – there was no more running.

Still, he couldn't grasp how someone so simple could be so beautiful at the same time – Misty was naturally flawless. Her mind was so headstrong and committed – she was inspiring. Gary found himself gaping at how gorgeous she was; her hair was in a high ponytail, falling past her shoulders and around her face in auburn waves as her head hung forward while her skin glowed, just like her personality. She was down to earth and clear-cut, which was something that actually stood out to him – there was nothing false or overpowering – she was just herself.

The guilt he felt was consuming his mind rapidly, and when he heard a loud bang in the distance of the chamber, he knew he needed to act fast – they were in trouble, and he had to do something about it.

"Misty," he said desperately, never taking his eyes off of her – she didn't move a muscle. Sighing in agitation, he tried again, this time making his voice a little louder. "Misty!"

She started to stir – her head started to move slightly and he could see her wince when the cuff around her neck dug into her skin. He saw her try to move her hands and feet, but as she failed, she started to become a lot more unsettled. Obviously, she was becoming a lot more aware of how she felt and that something was limiting her to the amount of movement she was able to have, and gradually, she lifted her head and opened her eyes.

Her body became rigid. Gary heard her breathing become heavy as she realised she wasn't in a safe place, and as she looked down at her hands and feet it became clear to Gary she had remembered what had happened to her before – how long ago that was, Gary didn't know.

"Misty," Gary whispered, making her jump. She let out a deep breath when she saw his face and closed her eyes for a moment, looking up to the ceiling.

"Gary, what's going on?" she asked, the panic in her voice overtaking her. She frantically tried to release her hands from the cuffs around them but failed miserably – she breathed in sharply as it dug deeply into her skin.

"Misty, calm down," Gary said, trying his absolute best to keep himself composed. "I need you to listen to me."

"Where are we?" she asked, staring into his eyes. Her face looked stricken with worry – he'd never seen that expression on her before, even when he had first explained to her about Euphoria. Before, she'd refused to show him any sign of fright, but right now, it wasn't hard to miss.

As he was about to respond to her, someone else beat him to it.

"That, my dear, _I _can answer."

Gary and Misty both looked in the direction of the voice – it was cruel and intimidating, instantly making Misty's skin crawl. She found it extremely hard to see given that there was a pathetic amount of light present, but as she squinted, she could see a large, sturdy, well-built shadow looming in the darkness. It crept closer and closer towards her, and when it stepped into the light, Misty found the ability to speak crumble into nothingness.

Misty's first impression of Salamere was that of pure terror, to say the least. The first thing she noticed was that he looked evil – _pure _evil. He showed no emotion other than sadism, an eerie, spine-chilling grin plastered across his face as he stared severely into her eyes. He was old but _brutally_ strong, his posture and figure powerful enough to threaten anything that dared to cross his path. A black cloak covered him entirely with the only part of his flesh visible being his face and hands – numerous amounts of scars covered his left fist, while on his right was a scarred letter 'E' engraved into his skin. His hair was long, matted, filthy and dark blonde in colour, falling around his face unflatteringly in a tangled mess while heavy bags had formed underneath his eyes making them appear sunken and lifeless – exactly like the feeling Misty had when he looked at her. One thing she knew for sure was that she was _not _going to get on the wrong side of him – she felt vulnerable and defenceless, his malevolent smile piercing through her like a knife.

"You're in my headquarters, of course," he said poisonously, his gaze upon her still sharp. "And you will be kept under my supervision – if you fail to cooperate, then you will face the consequences. With that, I welcome you to Euphoria, Miss Waterflower."

Misty's insides squirmed and twisted at the pure sight of him; he was unequivocally foul. From his posterior to his persona, Misty couldn't help but shudder – she had met some _extremely _nasty people in her life before, but Salamere stood above them all. She hadn't even discovered what his intentions were and she could already tell that he was sadistic; it was cemented into his expression.

Salamere then set his gaze upon Gary – his eyes held loathing and hatred, yet he continued to smile triumphantly. Gary refused to show any sign of anxiety; he stared coldly into Salamere's obscure, sinister watch, his jawline tightening as Salamere slowly approached him. Silence hung through the air as they glared at each other and Misty felt her pulse quicken rapidly – Gary had a lot of nerve to stand up to someone like Salamere.

Misty jumped as Salamere began to clap his hands together in pauses, the sound echoing throughout the chamber. It pierced her ears harshly making her force her eyes together tightly – what on _earth _was he playing at?

"Congratulations, Gary," Salamere said cynically, his eerie grin still present. "You've successfully completed your mission."

Gary's expression became completely detached; his mouth hung open slightly and his eyes turned distant and irresolute. He felt the need to shout drain from his being, his throat turning hoarse and brittle – as he followed Salamere's expression, it dawned on him what his plan was.

_No._

He could see Misty looking at him in bewilderment from the corner of his eye. She creased her brows together and glanced at the floor, consuming Salamere's words – mission? What did he mean by mission? The question was racing through her mind at top speed, overtaking any fright she had been feeling a few seconds before. Now, curiosity took over, and as she looked at Gary, it only made her wonder even more – he appeared completely taken aback.

"What does he mean, Gary?" she asked, a lot more confidently than she first expected. He continued to stare at Salamere loathingly, although Misty could just about see that his bottom lip was quivering – something wasn't right.

"Don't listen to a word he says," Gary replied bitterly, a small hint of desperation in his voice. Salamere eyed him with viciousness, grinning manically – Gary couldn't brace himself for what was coming, nor could he think of any excuses. Salamere had beat him to it, had already outsmarted him; defeat was starting to consume him.

"Oh, well this is just _precious," _Salamere said mockingly, chuckling to himself, "Gary has completed his mission, Miss Waterflower – and quite magnificently, too."

Confusion endlessly attacked Misty and swiftly, agitation coursed through her.

"What does he mean by _mission, _Gary?" she asked, glaring at him tensely. Gary opened his mouth but no words would come out – the horror of his mission started eating away at him, rising from out of the darkness and into the light. He'd kept it hidden, at first _wanting _to complete it, but he then started to hide it for Misty's safety. He had hoped that it would_ never_ come to this, that he'd _never _have to tell her the truth, but Salamere had beaten him to it. Things would never be the same again – she was about to find out the _true _meaning as to why he'd first abducted her, and there was nothing he could say or do to change it.

"Allow _me _to explain that to you, Miss Waterflower," Salamere said as he sat down in a large chair that looked like some sort of throne. He brought his hands together and rested his chin upon them, his elbows leaning on the worn, rotting desk in front of him.

Gary's face paled as Salamere smirked dirtily – this was it.

"Gary's mission was to abduct you, Miss Waterflower," he said, watching her intently. "He then had to put on an act of innocence and heroism – something he did _extremely _well, I might add. His aim was to lead you quickly and skilfully back to our headquarters, and that's exactly what he's done – here you are. Are you surprised, Misty?"

As Misty processed Salamere's words, her whole body became numb to the core; was this all some kind of sick joke? Was this Salamere's tasteless way of fun? Of course it was – Gary would _never _do that to her. He genuinely cared for her… didn't he? Her stomach twisted in nervousness as Salamere's words continued to run through her head, and as she looked over at Gary, it clenched even more – he was utterly emotionless, staring up at Salamere weakly. She'd never seen him look so torn; it just _couldn't _be true.

"Gary, tell me it's _not _true," Misty demanded, her voice quivering. Her eyes had started to water as there was still no response from him – he still refused to look at her, his posture unsteady. She watched him swallow down a large lump, and cautiously, he turned to face her.

His heart completely shattered within that moment. As Misty stared into his eyes, his whole world had finally collapsed; she looked at him in terror, dread and hope all at the same time, her once bright, ocean coloured eyes losing all life and soul that might have been there before. She clenched her fists together forcefully, her hands starting to tremble – he was about to ruin her.

As Gary faintly nodded his head, all the tension that Misty was feeling vanished.

Shock engulfed her, drowning out all her senses.

_He wouldn't._

Flashbacks of the past week raced through her mind; watching the TV in the Cerulean Gym, the attack, the sight of Gary for the first time, his story of Euphoria that never made sense to her, why he never went back to Pallet Town – as they repeatedly swam through her mind, everything started to come together and make sense, and all of a sudden, anger flooded Misty like someone had fired a Hydro Pump attack on her.

"You used me?"

Desperation and need started to overcome Gary – if he was ever going to get her to listen, it needed to be now. He couldn't back down without a fight; he wasn't going let Salamere see him fall.

"Misty, _listen _to me-"

"What is there to say, Gary? That you're sorry?" she asked in disbelief, watching him in horror. "Are you out of your mind, Gary? You _used _me! You _lied _right through your teeth throughout that _whole _time, convincing me that you were truly trying to protect me! What sort of sick, twisted person _does _that, Gary? What the fucking hell is _wrong _with you?"

She was livid – he'd never seen somebody so hurt, so disappointed, so betrayed; and it was his entire fault. The whole plot of what he'd been asked to do in the first place was utterly sickening, and as Gary thought back through what he was asked to do, he couldn't believe he'd let himself become so engrossed in the hands of Euphoria – they'd brainwashed him, cutting off his connection to everything outside of the headquarters, forcing him to _truly _believe that life with them was the way forward – but it wasn't.

"_Please, _Misty, just _listen _to me!" Gary said urgently. "At first it _was _my mission, Misty, but then everything changed! _You _changed everything! _You _made me change my mind, _you _made me realise how fucked up this whole organisation is, because of _you, _I fel-"

"Don't give me any of your _shit, _Gary!" she screamed, tears now streaming down her face. "You _lied _to me, you _used _me, you led me on and made me feel _safe, _Gary, and the whole thing was just an act! Just don't say a fucking word_, _I _hate _you, I absolutely _hate _you!"

She was sobbing uncontrollably, her chest becoming heavy and her body becoming weak – she hung her head and closed her eyes tightly, tears pouring onto her lap in a never-ending pool of regret, of humiliation. The darkness suddenly became clear to her, approaching her, ready to swallow her whole as she feared it yet longed for it. She felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces, piercing at her very soul, mocking her for falling for such a ruthless and merciless story.

"Misty, please,_ listen_ to me!"Gary continued to scream, his throat burning from the force of his voice. She unrelentingly ignored him, staring into her lap, emotionless, impassively – everything around her was slowly fading as her drive started to give up entirely.

"How _pathetic," _a mocking voice said. Gary snarled and focused his gaze on Artilius who was cunningly making his way towards Misty, a spiteful grin etched across his face. He walked up to Misty and grabbed her chin vehemently, forcing her to look at him. She showed no emotion but had her lips pursed, trying to hold back the anger that was begging to burst – confidently, she scowled at him, ignoring his sardonic expression.

"You dumb bitch," he said, gripping her face. "You actually _believed _Gary's story? You're _pathetic."_

Humiliation endlessly swam throughout her body, but Misty refused to show it – with one last smirk, Artilius slapped her hard across the face, the sound of the blow echoing across the chamber.

"Leave her alone, you _bastard!" _Gary shouted fervently, snarling at him. He laughed manically and licked his lips as he watched Misty tremble. "You've got some nerve, Artilius, touch her again and I'll-"

"And you'll _what_, Gary?" he asked sarcastically. Gary grit his teeth in animosity and glared at Artilius harshly – how he _wished _that he could ring his neck and beat him to a pulp that very second. The way he stood there thinking that he was all high and mighty made Gary rile up with rage – in fact, _everything _about Artilius at that moment made Gary bitter with vengeance; his jet-black hair that reminded him of Ash and how the tips of it were coloured red, his amber coloured eyes that shone brightly when he was hurting someone, the swagger he produced when he walked, the way he snaked his hands through his hair – it made Gary sick to the stomach.

"Exactly," he spat venomously, approaching Misty once more. "So you don't like it when I hit Misty, huh? Well I'll do it again then!"

As Artilius raised his hand, Gary winced and shut his eyes – he felt absolutely _useless_. As he waited for Misty to scream, he clenched his teeth together; he'd never felt so much hate for somebody before.

"That's enough, Artilius."

Gary let out a deep breath – she'd managed to get out of that one. He looked over at Misty and felt his heart break again; she was slowly deteriorating. Her head still hung loosely, her bottom lip was trembling and a brutal red mark was evident on her left cheek.

_The fucking bastard!_

"Take Misty to the east dungeon, Artilius," Salamere ordered bluntly, watching Artilius' disappointed expression turn into that of mischief. "I'll deal with her later."

Gary's heart sunk – the east dungeon was used as a torture chamber.

"No!" he shouted pleadingly, his voice scratching at his throat. "Not the east dungeon, she doesn't deserve that! Take me instead, she does-"

Before Gary could say anything else, another Euphoria guard came up from behind him and tied a large piece of cloth around his mouth. Gary kept wriggling and shouting as much as he could, trying his best to get Misty's attention, but he failed miserably. The cloth started digging into his skin as he tried to break free from it, his face burning from the force of the friction, and as Misty finally looked over at him, he felt empty. Her whole body was shaking and shuddering violently, her eyes boring into him like sunken pools of loss – Artilius unchained her from the chair and threw her to the floor, causing her lip to smash against it and swell up from the force. He laughed hysterically and tied her hands behind her back, pulling her up by her hair, making her wheeze in pain as she struggled to stand. Gary looked on helplessly at the scene in front of him and lowered his head in defeat; there was _nothing _he could do anymore. The more he watched Misty, the more powerless he felt, but glancing up at her one last time, he found that his eyes had started to burn from the tears that were forming.

She faintly looked at him and paused, studying his expression – _he'd _done this to her. She wanted to believe him, to fall into his arms and forgive him… but he'd used her and he'd _betrayed _her. And for that reason, she could never forgive him.

As she was led out of Salamere's headquarters, Gary went limp; she was gone.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Salamere rise from his seat. He looked up at him in disdain and snarled underneath his breath – he was ruthless to the core. He watched Salamere order the two Euphoria guards who had gagged himself to leave and waited tensely as he made his way down from his throne to Gary's level.

A look of pure disgust passed over Salamere's expression, and without warning, he hit Gary gruellingly across the face.

Part of the cloth was released from Gary's mouth from the pure force of Salamere's punch – his sight started to deteriorate for a few seconds, and the taste of blood had formed in his mouth. As quickly as the first punch had come, a second punch hit him causing the rest of the gag to break. Gary coughed and heaved up blood, spitting as much of it as he could onto the floor. As he gradually got his composure back, he eyed Salamere bitterly.

"You're a _fool,_ Gary," he said resentfully, looking down upon him in disappointment. Gary looked up spitefully and spat in his face, his jaw tight.

"_Bite me," _he seethed.

"I should've known this would happen," Salamere said, pacing the floor. "It's a pity, though – I truly had high hopes for you. It's such a shame you couldn't handle it… you were next in line for leader status after me."

"That means _nothing _to me anymore," Gary said loathingly. He watched Salamere pace the floor space in front of him and decided to challenge him a little. "You're one sick _bastard,_ d'you know that?"

Salamere eyed Gary intently and narrowed his gaze.

"You're completely sadistic – everything you're doing and planning is downright _mental. _Capturing people to use them for your plans… you're off your fucking head! The only reason I've been working so hard over the past few years is because I couldn't bear to see my family and Pokémon die – come to think of it, I _never _had any true commitments to Euphoria. It was all in my fucking _head_._"_

He watched Salamere grimace as he listened to his repentance of the company – Salamere pursed his lips and scowled ferociously at Gary, taken aback by how someone could talk down upon his precious organisation so much. How _dare _he mock his plans?

"Euphoria _will_ succeed with or _without _your help, Gary," he said bluntly. "As I said, I should've known this would happen – not even your father could complete his mission. Then again; like father, like son."

Gary glowered at Salamere – what the _fuck _was he going on about? He never even _knew _his father so how _dare _he twist the story? There was no mission that involved his father _at all_, so what was it that Salamere was trying to play at?

"What do you mean my father didn't complete his mission? He's dead. He died years ago… why would _he _have anything to do with someone like _you?"_

Salamere smirked dirtily.

"Did you ever question your parent's death, Gary?"

"My parent's death is _nothing _to do with you, you asshole," Gary replied bitterly.

He smirked again – this was turning out to be a lot more perfect than he'd originally thought.

"That's where you're _wrong_, Gary," Salamere said, sitting back in his seat. "I suppose you've always been oblivious to your parent's history before you were born, yes?"

Gary didn't answer – he was far too confused.

"Your father, Gary, was a very vulnerable man. At a young age, he had nothing left to live for – his parents had left him, leaving him completely homeless and weak. I took this as my opportunity to seize him. I convinced him to work for me – at first, I lied about my true intentions and told him something entirely different. You see, Euphoria was struggling for power, Gary, so the only way I could lead him onto my side was to lie. He fell for it and started working for us – he showed potential, a lot like you… but he then backed out. He realised my true intentions and ran – with that, he started a new life."

Salamere's words droned through Gary's ears endlessly – he found himself completely speechless.

"He met your mother not long after he left us – he was undoubtedly smitten by her and the two started a new life together. He changed his identity, however, because he _knew _that I wouldn't let him go _that _easily. He eventually wed her but she chose to keep her father's name – I'm not surprised, seeing as he_ is_ an Oak. Samuel Oak, your grandfather, cherished her _very _much… and when she gave birth to yourself and Daisy, he couldn't have been happier.

"Euphoria continued to fail following the years after your father had left due to a lack of minions – we gradually managed to build up our power over the years that he was absent, causing Euphoria to start training and plotting. Yes, _everything _was looking up… but I _still _couldn't get over your father's betrayal, Gary. It kept eating away at my mind… no, I _had _to do something.

"Remind me of how your parents died, Gary."

Gary felt extremely intimidated by Salamere – he refused to show any sign of anxiety, however, and answered him promptly.

"In a car crash," he said, his gaze becoming distant. "Their car was found but their bodies never were."

"Precisely," Salamere said sickeningly. "Did you ever wonder _why _your parent's bodies were never found, Gary? It must have seemed odd – you _must _have questioned it. See, the truth is, _I _caused your parents to crash, Gary. _I _took their bodies and carried them back here to the headquarters. I couldn't let your father get away and allow him to live his life freely – no, that would mean that I had been defeated, and let's get one thing straight _– I never lose._

"Once they were back at the headquarters, I did exactly what I did to you and Misty – I got a few of my guards to chain them up. The look on your father's face was _priceless, _let me tell you. He thought he'd got away with it and that he'd _never _be found, but my, how _wrong _he was. I wanted to deal with things quickly, so I shot your mother straightaway. Your father, however… well, I wanted him to _pay _for what he did, so I tortured him, Gary, and I loved _every _single _minute _of it."

Gary's normally calm demeanour instantly changed to that of animosity; his face contorted into all-consuming anger, his nostrils flaring, eyes flashing with ferocity and hands balled into fists.

"You son of a _bitch," _Gary seethed, clenching his jaw so hard his teeth almost crushed with the force. "You fucking _murdered _them, all for revenge on my dad because he realised what sick fucks you all are? You twisted, heartless_ bastard, _Salamere! Do you not realise how much _grief _you caused me and my family to have? How my sister cried night after night, how she wished that it had been _her _that had died instead of them, how you _completely _fucked up my childhood? You _bastard, _you absolute _bastard!"_

"As I said, Gary, I _never _lose. Your father was pathetic enough to ever think otherwise, and your mother was just as pathetic for marrying him in the first place."

"Is that why you took me then?"

Salamere narrowed his glance.

"That's it, isn't it? The whole reason you abducted me in the first place was an act of revenge on my father's failed mission, wasn't it? It wasn't about how I was skilled – it was all to please the fucking grudge you held over him."

Salamere smiled devilishly. He'd never told Gary the truth about why he'd first abducted him – he thought it would never have to come to that. And for all these years, Gary found that he was constantly asking himself _why _Euphoria wanted him – it never made any sense, and all of a sudden, he knew _everything_ that was hidden from him for so long.

"Turns out that you're not as thick as I thought you were, Gary."

"Fuck you," Gary spat, lips tight. There was a brief silence between the two as Salamere lingered around him, watching Gary raptly. He then decided a change of topic would be perfect – especially one so personal.

"And what about Misty, Gary? Such a pretty girl… it just tears me apart to think of how she must be feeling right now, knowing that the one person she thought she could trust betrayed her like that."

"You keep Misty out of this," Gary said bitterly. "She doesn't deserve this – fuck, _none _of them deserve this!"

"I honestly thought that you had a lot more in you, Gary," Salamere continued. "I didn't think you'd be one to give in so easily to a petty _female. _I was highly mistaken."

"She was a risk worth taking," Gary said, his voice becoming a lot calmer at the thought of Misty. "She made me _learn, _Salamere. She made me learn something that you'll _never _be able to feel, _never. _She made me learn how to _love_ – that was enough to make me turn against you for _good."_

"How touching," Salamere said disdainfully, grimacing at Gary's words. "You know, as well as seeing you _suffer _throughout this little episode, I've gained a lot more than I first bargained for."

Gary snorted.

"And what's that then?"

"Well, none other than your little lady friend, Gary," Salamere said provocatively. Gary's face dropped – he just crossed the line.

"You leave her alone, Salamere," Gary fumed, the rage boiling up again inside him. "Don't you fucking _touch _her."

"I _was _just going to keep her captive like the rest of the gym leaders," Salamere continued, pacing the floor again. "But the more I think about it, why not use her for something else? Yes – Misty can be used for much more… _pleasurable_ uses."

Gary felt his heart stop – his whole body shuddered and crawled with goose bumps.

"No," Gary said, shaking his head in pure denial. "Not that, _anything _but that! You're so fucking _sadistic, _Salamere! You've got some nerve to even _consider _treating a young girl like that!"

"I need my pleasures in life too, Gary, and Misty is the perfect woman to use – especially with how strong your feelings are towards her."

"You make me _sick. _You won't get away with this – you'll be captured soon enough, Salamere, just you wait!"

"I highly doubt that, Gary," Salamere said simply. "Our headquarters are hidden _far _too well. I _will _succeed."

"Rot in hell," spat Gary.

Salamere laughed evilly and clicked his fingers – within an instant, the two Euphoria guards he sent outside returned on his command, awaiting their next order.

"Take Gary to the west dungeon," he said, standing from his seat. "And make sure he's unarmed."

The two guards obeyed their boss immediately and started to unchain Gary – he struggled against them as much as he could but their strength was too much compared to his deteriorating composure.

"No!" he screamed, fighting with all of his might against them. "Misty! Misty, listen to me!"

"It's no use, Gary!" Salamere exclaimed, chuckling successfully to himself. "She cannot hear you. It's _over, _Gary – you've _lost."_

"No, I hav-"

Gary was gagged again, one of the guards forcefully tying it around his mouth. He attempted to head-butt the one in front of him but the one who had gagged him was too quick – he yanked Gary's head back by holding onto his hair and kicked him in the back of the knees, causing Gary to collapse. He was pulled back up and dragged to the west dungeon, the guards giving him no sympathy throughout the journey. Gary put up the fight the best that he could but knew that it was no use. Salamere was right; he'd lost. After everything he'd been through and gained – all was gone within a matter of hours.

After he was unchained he was thrown to the floor of his chamber roughly. The guards instantly locked the door as Gary scrambled to his feet but he missed by seconds – he was trapped.

"Open the fucking door!" he shouted, banging his fist hard upon it. "Salamere, open the fucking door!"

As Gary realised that nobody was coming for him, he stopped hitting his fist against the door and slowly turned around. He felt his face heating up with anger and humiliation – as he brought his hands to his head, he felt something wet on his face; he had been crying. He'd never felt so _livid _before in his life – it was _all _his fault. He thought of Misty and the look she had given him before she was led out of Salamere's headquarters, of how she must be feeling and what she must be going through at that very moment. He thought back to Salamere's confession of how he brutally murdered his parents out of revenge, and finally, he thought of the Professor and Daisy and how disappointed they'd be in him.

Leaning against the door, he slowly slid down it and stared into the darkness of the chamber, all hope that had been left within him lost – numbness engulfed him like a wave, and as he brought his knees in towards his chest, Gary broke down.

_I've failed._

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow – this was _a lot _harder than I thought. I don't think I've ever put so much content into a chapter before! As I said before, this chapter is the main story turner, the big one, the moment everything starts to fit together – both Gary _and _Misty have a lot to take in, and more is revealed about Salamere's character.

Once again, thank you to _everyone _that reviewed my last chapter, and please please _please _take a moment of your time to tell me what you think of _Hunt – _I put my absolute all into every chapter I write, so if you're reading it then that's all I ask!

I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it.

Until next time,

Charityx


	11. Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! Sorry for the later update – this has been a pretty hard chapter to write. It's not as long as the last one but a lot of information's revealed within it and you guys will _finally _discover what Euphoria's intentions are.

I hope you enjoy it!

Hunt

Chapter 10

Misty Waterflower sat silently in regret. She had no motive, nor did she have any drive – all she could do was stare endlessly into thin air, wanting no more than to curl up into a pathetic ball on the floor and shrivel up into nothing. Instead, she was chained to the hard, rotting wall of the chamber, her wrists completely immobile and throbbing from the force of metal piercing into them. As her eyes continuously became in and out of focus, Misty's thoughts repeatedly found their way back to the one person she _hated _to think about; Gary.

She shut her eyes tightly as her mind said his name – it was just plain _awful._ She'd never felt so stupid before in her life and cursed at herself for losing her pride so easily. He set out with a goal of using her, and she fell for that as if she had nothing else to hold onto – how much more pathetic could it get? Everything he told her, everything he promised her – gone. It was all an act, fake, a false sense of security just so that he could get what he wanted… and she fell for it. She had ignored her doubts completely and put all of her faith into him, and he stepped all over her as if she was nothing more than a piece of dirt.

She'd lost control when she discovered his true intentions. When Gary had confirmed that Salamere's words were in fact true, all of the strength and positivity she was holding onto vanished. She'd never felt so empty, so useless and humiliated, so pitiful and weak… it broke her and beat her, yet he still had the _nerve _to try and convince her that it wasn't true. How _dare _he humiliate her further like that, pretending that everything was a lie and that he truly _was _protecting her? That Salamere was provoking him and twisting the story? He honestly expected her to _believe_ him?

_Liar._

Hot tears slowly moved down her face and stung her cheeks like acid, burning away all the pride and dignity that might have been left within her before. Her bottom lip throbbed from the force of when Artilius had pushed her down earlier before, and as more and more energy drained from her being, she felt her body slowly start to shut down.

A slam from the chamber door soon kicked her back into reality.

She lifted her head weakly to face whoever had entered the chamber. She felt herself grimace when she realised that it was Artilius, back to humiliate her even further, she guessed. He sauntered over towards her with confidence, his scruffy, black hair falling messily around his face. She showed no emotion towards him and continued to eye him with hatred, appearing un-amused by his over-cocky posterior. It was strange – she knew she that she should've been scared of him but she just couldn't take him seriously. Sure, he'd managed to hit her a few times but with the amount of hate she felt towards him she felt as if she could take it from him – he was nothing, after all. As he leant against the wooden table in front of her, he crossed his arms and smirked humiliatingly.

"How the _fuck _could you go for someone like Gary?" he asked astoundingly, half laughing. "He's nothin' but a coward. A fake, a liar… he's _useless."_

Misty stared at Artilius in disgust and felt her stomach drop at his words – they were so true it was painful to hear.

"Fuck, I honestly can't believe how easily you fell for it… I bet you're feelin' pretty useless yourself right now, huh, Misty?"

She avoided his gaze at this – he definitely knew how to make people feel worthless. That was obviously what he was best at – lowering people just so he could feel better about himself. As he realised he failed to get a reaction out of her, she watched his expression turn from smug to sadistic within seconds. She eyed him cautiously and braced herself for whatever would come next; whether that was words or action, she didn't quite know.

"I could show you what a _real _man is," he said suggestively, taking a couple of steps towards her and grabbing her chin. "Whatcha say, Misty? How about me an' you get down an' dirty, huh? Could definitely get a kick out of _you."_

"You make me _sick,"_ Misty seethed, staring hard into Artilius' cold stare. He brought his tongue to the top of his teeth and tightened his grip on her face, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Don't fuck with me, Misty," he said harshly, scanning her face with his eyes deadly. "You wouldn't want me hittin' you again, now would ya?"

"I'm not scared of you," Misty said confidently – this time it was _her _chance to be smug. "You call this intimidating someone? Pretty _pathetic_ if you ask me."

"Think you're smart, yeah? Well think again, you little _bitc-"_

"Thank you, Artilius, but I think that you've done more than enough. You can leave now."

Misty smirked at Artilius in a way that made him snarl with bitter annoyance – she _knew _how much he wanted to hit her and she'd got away with it again. She wasn't expecting anything better from Salamere, however, but knowing that she could get another one on Artilius gave her a surreal sense of satisfaction. He roughly let go of her jawline and sharply turned around, storming out of the chamber with fury. As she watched him leave, her smirk faded and she pursed her lips together with uncertainty – for some reason, she knew that her little encounter with Salamere wasn't going to go too well. After shutting the chamber door, he focused his gaze on her like a wild Pokémon ready to go in for the kill. Her breath hitched in her throat as he made his way closer to her, a wicked and malicious smile covering his entire face and instantly, goose bumps covered her entire body – she'd forgotten how terrifying he was.

"Misty, Misty, Misty," he said eerily, yellow teeth showing. "I really do _pity _you right now… it must be very… _unnerving,_ knowing that the one person you thought that you could trust proved to be nothing more than a liar. He was doing a _splendid _job, might I say. He had you _completely _fooled from the very start. It's a shame, though – he could've made something out of this if he hadn't fell so easily."

Misty eyed him curiously.

"What do you mean by saying that he _fell, _exactly?" Misty asked, trying her best to sound as calm as possible. "The only person who fell was me. He did everything that you wanted him to – you said so yourself. He's even proved that by leading me here."

"Correct," Salamere said, pacing the floor in front of her. "But let me ask you something, Misty. Have you thought about the events _before _you reached our headquarters?"

"What do _you _think, Salamere? Surely you would have guessed that by now."

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" he said, smirking dirtily. "I like that, you know."

"I'm flattered," Misty said sarcastically, her lips tight with vengeance. "Now, I'll ask you again – what do you mean that he _fell, _Salamere? I'm not asking for much, but one thing I _do _want is answers."

"Very well," he said, stopping in front of her. "Why do you think Gary suddenly wanted to change course last minute, Misty?"

"The whole thing was obviously planned," she said bitterly, avoiding his gaze for a moment. "It was all a game, wasn't it? One huge, sick game and I was the main prize."

Salamere laughed evilly.

"You _still_ haven't figured it out, have you?" he asked incredulously. "You stupid girl. I thought you were smarter than this, Misty. The whole reason that Gary wanted to change course last minute was because he_ fell_ for you, Misty – the idiot fell in _love. _What he was trying to tell you was the truth – he _did _betray the organisation, all because of _you. _I had so much faith in him… I honestly thought that he was going to succeed in the mission, but _no_ – he gave himself into a petty _female. _Why do you think he's gone into imprisonment?"

Misty stared at Salamere numbly – it was true? Gary was telling the truth? She thought back to the last time she looked at Gary and remembered his expression; he looked fragile, desperate and broken, but she was so wound up with fury and hurt that she hadn't taken notice of it before. Now, as Salamere explained this to her, everything started to make sense. Gary had been _completely _on edge the day that Artilius shot them both in the river and Misty remembered how she couldn't get her head around it – earlier before they'd had a deep conversation that seemed to change Gary's motive and personality towards her, and now, when she thought back to that conversation, she realised _exactly _what had happened – Gary's plan of action changed there and then. He must've known that if he'd carried on the way they were going there would be a bigger chance of the two getting caught, and he didn't want to risk that. She thought of how desperate he was to keep her protected from Artilius against the river and how much he fought to keep her out of his way – it suddenly became clear to Misty that at that moment in time, Gary was fighting for her life, and within a split second, Misty felt sick.

_"My mission is to protect you, Misty," he said sternly. "That's what I've set out to do, so I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that you're safe, even if that means risking my own life."_

Instantly, her temper took control.

"You _bastard_," she seethed, gritting her teeth in anger. "You purposely made it look as if Gary had no feelings for me at all! You convincedme that all he did was _use _me, you completely _humiliated _him! I can't believe I had the _nerve _to believe you! You're sick, just what do you want from me!? What are your plans, _why_ are you doingthis!?"

Salamere laughed in amusement at Misty's anger – this only riled her up even more. She clenched her fists together so hard that her nails began to dig deeply into her skin, her veins starting to pop out like ropes, the heat in her blood boiling so hot she felt as if she could singe anything that dared cross her path.

"You see, Misty? _Nobody _can be trusted within Euphoria – you must be wary of what you believe. We don't mess around here, Misty. You either cooperate with us or you don't – the choice is yours. Some of your fellow gym leaders have already discovered this… a lot of them refused to cooperate when I had _kindly _asked them to, so they then had to deal with the consequences. And, might I add, if you don't follow our instructions, then we won't hesitate to hurt you – you _and _your Pokémon."

"Enough of your games, Salamere," Misty said exhaustedly. "Just tell me what your plans are. What do you plan on doing with all of us? _Why _are you doing this?"

She was desperate now – she didn't care what happened to her anymore. All she wanted to know was _why _she was ever put into this situation. What did the gym leaders have that Salamere wanted? He snickered at her and grinned so sadistically that Misty's throat went dry – she knew that what she was about to hear wasn't going to be pleasant.

"My mission, Misty, is to change the population completely. After years of planning, my plot is _finally _starting to unfold – all of my hard work is starting to pay off. Now, you're probably wondering what I want to do with all of you _gym leaders, _and that my dear is quite simple – you're merely just a threat, a bit of blackmail, might I add. Ultimately, I want to take over the League, and what gives the League its power?"

She thought for a moment.

"Us," she answered.

"Precisely," he replied, a sickly grin present across his face. "Without all of you gym leaders, the League is nothing – so, take away the League's power and it's left stranded, useless, just like a grass-type against a fire-type. Eventually, the League will have to step down or change its rules, and what better person is there other than me to take control? Yes… with me in control, I can _really _start to put my plan into action.

"I want to change the rules of the League _completely. _Battles will be held not with a trainer against gym leader, but trainer against trainer – this way I can monitor those who have potential, power and strength and also those who don't. By dividing the entire population into training ability, I can then start to get to work on my _biggest _goal of all – creating a new race."

Misty's mouth dropped – what the _fuck _was this lunatic going on about?

"Yes, a new race! I want to create perfection, I want to create power, I want to be… _inferior. _By doing this, the world will no longer be full of weakand pitiful people… no, it will be superior and outstanding. The same goes for Pokémon – with only the best Pokémon, the world can become what it's supposed to be – _indestructible."_

"And what happens to those who aren't up to your standards?" Misty asked, her mind racing with confusion – the whole thing was damn right _mental_.

"Well, they're exterminated, of course," Salamere said simply.

Misty couldn't grasp what she was hearing – that was his plan? That was Euphoria's main goal – to take control of the population and kill those who weren't strong enough? She'd never heard such absurdity in her life – she'd come across many organisations before who had sick and twisted goals, but _none _were as twisted as Euphoria's. Heck, Misty thought that _Team Rocket_ were psycho, but this… this was just _inhuman._

"You're cracked," Misty said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're completely and utterly _mental! _You're not even _human _to want to do something like this! You make me sick. You won't get away with this. You will _never _get away with this, because soon enough people will discover your little hideout and what will you do then?"

"Misty, we've been hiding for_ this_ long, I highly doubt that we'll be found anytime soon," Salamere answered. "Plus, you want to be careful about that little mouth of yours – you don't want to be caught saying anything _bad _now, do you?"

"And if I do?"

"That reminds me, actually – I haven't told you what I plan to do with you, have I? That's you in particular, Misty."

"Surely it can't be worse than what you've just told me."

"Somehow, I think it _might_ be," he said. "I want to give Gary a little something before he's killed – something that will scar him for life, something that he can't do _anything _to stop. He really did show his concern, you know – he was absolutely _devastated _when he found out that you were not going into imprisonment with the other gym leaders. Yes, I want to make him _pay _for what he's done – like I said, we don't fool around here, Misty. If you don't cooperate, then you must deal with the consequences, and in Gary's case… my, he's going to be _heartbroken."_

"So come on then," Misty said, starting to get extremely agitated at Salamere's way of dragging things on. "What do you want to do with me?"

"I'm not surprised that Gary fell for you, Misty. You're a definite catch, if I do say so myself – fiery, strong… _alluring. _Yes, any man would be a fool not to be attracted towards you, and that's why you will be absolutely perfect for what I have planned."

Misty's skin started to crawl.

"Be perfect for what?"

Salamere grinned filthily – he licked his lips slowly and stood close to Misty, bringing his face towards her ear.

"_Pleasurable uses,"_ he whispered.

A large knot formed in the pit of Misty's stomach.

"No," she said, shaking her head in denial. "No, please, not that, _anything _but that!"

"It will be the perfect way to make Gary pay – as well as making him extremely uncomfortable, it will also scar his heart and mind, seeing the girl that he loves being used so brutally… a great image to be left in his mind before he dies, don't you agree? Plus, with _my _power, I can do it over and over and over again, and youcan't do _anything _about it."

"Eventually I'll give in," Misty said, holding back the angry tears that were begging to fall. "My body's already weak, Salamere – it's not long before it will shut down. Abuse me like that and I won't be here for much longer."

"Oh, but that won't be necessary, Misty, because with _this,_ I'll be able to hurt you as much as I please."

Salamere pulled out a small tube with a clear substance inside of it. As Misty examined it closely, she felt her heart stop for a moment – the revival liquid.

"The revival liquid," she said, her bottom lip quivering.

"Yes, Misty, the revival liquid, and with this, I'll be able to cure you instantly, so that means that you won't be going anywhere."

Misty couldn't control herself any longer – the tears she had been fighting against fell down her face making her vision become blurred. She stared thickly into thin air and felt her lower lip tremble – she had _nothing _anymore. Not even Gary could save her now – they'd lost. She heard Salamere snicker and saw his figure approach the chamber door, leaving her to soak up his words.

"I'll be back shortly to collect you, Misty," he said. "I have a few things to do first, but then, the _fun _can begin."

. . .

Numb – that's how Gary felt. Everything had seemed to stop – time, space, energy… as Gary thought endlessly about Misty, he only felt more and more pathetic. It was hopeless; he had _nothing. _No plans, no help, no weapons… everything was gone. All he had was his mind, scarring him with nasty thoughts about what might be happening to Misty at that very moment. The chamber he was in was dark, damp and smelt absolutely _foul _as if something had died in it. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could just about make out the small crack in the wall that shed a strong beam of light through the chamber. He'd spent what felt like hours trying to reach it, trying desperately to find a way out or at least see what was through it but it was no use.

As Gary slouched down even further onto the cold floor, he felt something dig into his lower back. Forcing his brows together, he felt around his belt – surely the Euphoria guards had taken all of his weapons off of him. As he expected to find something that wouldn't help him at all, Gary's fingers traced across something that made his heart stop.

The texture of this object was rounded and smooth – nothing like any weapon that _he _remembered having. Putting his entire hand around it, his eyes widened and his breath was hitched in his throat – it couldn't _possibly _be. Unclipping it from his belt, he brought the object to the front of his face.

To say that it was a miracle was an understatement.

Gary held a Poké Ball in his hand – a _Poké Ball. _His mouth fell open in shock and confusion – he didn't think that he had _any _Pokémon on him _at all. _Euphoria had taken all of his Pokémon off of him, so how on earth did this one get onto his belt? And how did he not notice it before? As he examined it closer, he recognised the ball to be one of his most trusted and loyal Pokémon.

_Arcanine._

Pressing the ball gently to his lips, Gary looked up to the ceiling and thanked Arceus that he'd discovered Acarnine's ball – this was the only hope he had left. Clutching it in his hand, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Arcanine," he whispered, resting his head against the wall. "I need you to release yourself and I need you to find help – be as quick as you can. Run like you've never ran before, find the nearest help that you can get and bring it here. I'm in trouble… I'm counting on you."

Giving the ball one last kiss, Gary stood up and approached the small crack in the wall. Looking up towards it, he aimed and threw the ball as hard as he could – holding his breath, he waited for it to make it through and he then let out a huge sigh of relief when it did. It was all up to Arcanine now – he prayed to Arceus that Arcanine understood his message and realised what he had to do. This was his last shot – if this failed, then _he _failed… and he wasn't going to do that.

Gary wanted Euphoria to fail, and he was determined to make it a reality.

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow – so the truth of Euphoria is finally revealed. What do you think? It took me a long time to figure out a decent plot for the organisation and I think I managed to think of one good enough. I wanted to make them different to other organisations such as Team Rocket, Plasma etc. so I decided to make things a little bit darker on their behalf – not your usual 'taking over the world' scenario.

Also, a glimmer of hope appears for Gary! What do you guys think will happen? Let me know in a review – it's interesting to hear your take on things!

A quick shout out to Ally147 – she's been a great help in terms of writing _Hunt_ and she also deserves _so _much more credit for her story _Sweeping the Sensational Set. _If you guys haven't checked it out yet then please, by all means do! It's a great EgoShipping fic that deserves more recognition!

That's all from me now, so until next time!

Charityx


	12. Chapter 11

Author's Note:

Welcome back, guys! I can't believe I'm nearing the end of this story already – only about four or five chapters left! This chapter's been _so _fun to write, I just hope you all enjoy it. Get ready for the return of someone who we haven't seen in a while!

Hunt

Chapter 11

Days had gone by since Ash had first started searching for Misty, although in his eyes, it seemed like _months. _He traipsed through endless amount of land trying to find her, but unfortunately, nothing even _remotely _related to Misty seemed to turn up. He had no clue whatsoever of her whereabouts or even the organisation's whereabouts, so at that moment in time you could say that his hope was slowly falling to pieces.

Deciding to take a breather, Ash settled down in a random area of shrubbery and leant against a nearby tree – he'd only just realised how he exhausted he was. It was at times like these that he wished he had Brock with him who could cook him up a nice meal to give him some energy, but all he had was a pathetic protein bar – nothing particularly special. Releasing his Pokémon from their Poké Balls, he got out some leftover Pokéblock and shared it out between them. Hungrily they dived in, appreciating the small amount of food that Ash was able to give to them. He smiled lazily at their happiness but then he remembered the reason why they were even out here in the first place; Misty. He wasn't going to give up hope anytime soon, but knowing that he literally had no clue as to where she could be was like a huge kick in the stomach – it left him feeling empty and useless, but for his sake and his Pokémon's sake, he continued to act positive.

"Noctowl, fly on ahead and see if you can spot anything," Ash ordered. Noctowl obeyed without hesitation and took off into the night sky, disappearing within a matter of seconds. Ash sighed heavily and looked up at the sky above him, deep in thought about Misty's whereabouts and more importantly, whether she was still alive. He shivered at the thought and looked down at Pikachu who had noticed his tense behaviour. Scratching him on the head Ash smiled warmly and reassured the mouse Pokémon that he was okay.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," he said. "Just thinking about what we're gonna do… I feel like I need a plan of action."

He shifted his gaze to Charizard who had suddenly become extremely tense – before, he'd been observing the other Pokémon, now and again watching the forest around them, but something had definitely caught his eye. Ash frowned at his Pokémon's odd behaviour and stood up, walking over towards him – Charizard's gaze remained fixed and sharp, his body solid.

"What's the matter, Charizard?" Ash asked hesitantly, looking in the same direction as him. Charizard continued to stare, a strong glint in his eye when suddenly, he grunted and stepped in front of Ash – something was _definitely _wrong. He started to growl underneath his breath and his eyes narrowed. The rest of Ash's Pokémon watched Charizard in suspicion but held back knowing that if they interrupted it wouldn't end well – waiting in anticipation, Ash squinted to try and see what exactly it was that Charizard was concerned about when all of a sudden, a large, panic-stricken Pokémon jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of them.

_Wait… is that… is that an Arcanine?_

The large fire-type Pokémon roared in desperation, unable to keep still. Ash's Charizard continued to eye the Pokémon warily, but a look of confusion was evident in its expression – Pikachu narrowed his gaze and watched Arcanine with both astonishment and disbelief, and as Ash glanced from Pokémon to Pokémon, he couldn't help but question what on _earth _was going on.

"Pika, pika-pika! Chu, pika!"

Ash watched Pikachu have its own conversation with the Arcanine intently, trying to grasp what it could be that was making Arcanine so frantic – Charizard's eyes widened and strong puffs of smoke blew out of its nostrils as the conversation went on, causing Ash even more confusion. The Arcanine continued to talk to Pikachu in a panicked manner, and as Pikachu gave one last sentence, the Arcanine seemed to nod its head vigorously.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked sternly, kneeling down to reach the mouse Pokémon's level. Pikachu started to talk frantically, making many different facial expressions in the process – Ash watched cautiously and tried to make out what it was that Pikachu was saying but he still failed to realise what he was trying to tell him. It was only when Pikachu made a certain facial expression that it caused Ash to freeze – it looked _very _familiar.

"Wait, Pikachu," Ash said, narrowing his brows. "Do that expression again."

Pikachu repeated the expression and Ash's face dropped.

"Gary?" Ash asked, watching Pikachu intently. Pikachu nodded his head vigorously and started pointing towards Arcanine hysterically, and it was only then did Ash realise exactly what he meant.

"You're Gary's Arcanine, aren't you?"

Arcanine nodded its head subtly and stared into Ash's eyes – Ash felt his own start to water and for a literal second, time stopped. As he stared endlessly into Arcanine's broken eyes, a large lump formed in Ash's throat.

"So… so that means that Gary's alive?"

Arcanine nodded once again.

Ash's breathing began to tremble – Gary was _alive? _After all of these years of believing that Gary was dead, he was alive? He couldn't grasp it – just when he desperately needed help, Arcanine showed up and revealed itself to be _Gary's _Arcanine? How on earth did it find them? And where was Gary? Hundreds of questions bombarded Ash's brain as he struggled to get his head around the situation, but shaking it off the best that he could, he gave Arcanine a stern expression.

"Where is Gary, Arcanine?"

Arcanine leapt up and turned around sharply, sprinting off into the forest. Pikachu tugged at Ash's jeans and then hopped up onto his shoulders, a look of determination plastered across his face. Ash nodded his head confidently and returned the rest of his team before bringing his fingers towards his mouth – he whistled as loudly as he could and within a few seconds, Noctowl had returned. Returning the bird Pokémon he then raced over towards Charizard and leapt onto his back, grabbing firmly onto his neck.

"Charizard, follow Arcanine!"

Without any hesitation Charizard lifted into the air with so much power it caused the trees around them to lean back with the force. As they climbed higher and higher Ash spotted Arcanine's shadowed figure sprinting in and out of the trees below at top speed, dodging everything in its path. Pikachu's cheeks sparked with anticipation, a look of determination evident in his eyes. The moon shone brightly down upon them, endless amounts of stars going on for miles and miles ahead – the forest looked as if it covered the entire world as not a town or city was in sight, and as the wind crashed against Ash's face, a strong feeling of uncertainty pulsed through him.

Eventually, Arcanine came to a stop in a part of the forest that was close to a nearby waterfall. Charizard dived down into the ground and came to a sharp stop before hitting the floor – patting him on the back, Ash jumped off of Charizard and approached Arcanine cautiously. The Pokémon was watching the waterfall attentively, its gaze fixed sharply on the pouring water that crashed into a large pool before continuing on-stream. Ash observed the scene slowly – it looked completely deserted. Why had Arcanine lead them here? He then heard Arcanine growl slightly next to him and he went into a position as if he was ready to hunt something down, and then, Ash froze – two figures appeared and were walking towards the waterfall. Due to the night, it was difficult for Ash to make out who they were, but as he squinted even further, he could just about make out that they were wearing some sort of uniform. A large gun was hung over the shoulder of one while the other had a large belt filled with what appeared to be numerous amounts of weapons – unexpectedly, one of them turned around and looked in his direction, and quickly, Ash ducked beneath a bush – luckily, it just about covered him. Peeking through the leaves, he noticed some sort of badge engraved into the front of their uniform in the top right-hand corner.

_E._

"What could that stand for?" he muttered to himself, breathing out heavily when the two men continued on in their tracks. Before he could think about it further, his mouth dropped open – right next to the waterfall on the right-hand side, a secret opening appeared out of nowhere. The surface of the rocky cliffside next to the waterfall opened up, and as the two men walked inside, it disappeared after a matter of seconds.

"Pika!"

Ash turned his attention to Pikachu and realised that Arcanine was ordering them to follow him. Ash leant out his arm for Pikachu to run up and then returned Charizard to his Poké Ball, thanking him for his support. Swiftly, he ran over to Arcanine, still keeping watch of the area in front of him and still trying his best to keep his cover. They came to the edge of the cliffside on the left-hand side of the waterfall and Arcanine focused its gaze above them. Without warning, Arcanine took off all of a sudden back in the direction they came, startling Ash greatly – what on earth was it doing?

As quickly as it had turned around, it soon came back to Ash, charging at full speed – Ash froze.

"Arcanine, what are yo-wah!"

Ash was flipped through the air and landed on Arcanine's back – before he even had time to get his balance, Arcanine had leapt up onto a narrow pathway that the cliffside held, sprinting up it at full pelt. Clinging onto it as hard as he could, Ash looked below him and saw that the pool of water below them was becoming smaller and smaller and Arcanine only took them higher and higher. Then, with one last leap, Arcanine landed on a ledge that brought them to a large, dark opening hidden deep within the cliffside.

Sliding off of Arcanine's back, Ash eyed the opening warily.

"You want us to go in there?" Ash asked.

Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder and ran up to Arcanine. He turned back to Ash and pointed inside of the cave-like opening, urging Ash to follow. Nodding confidently, Ash followed the two Pokémon and walked into the cave cautiously, keeping his eyes open as wide as he could in case of any danger. The further into the cave, the lighter it became – small lights had been built into the ceiling of the cave making it a lot easier for Ash to see. He stopped when he saw that Arcanine was investigating the area, sniffing around the ground rapidly. Then, he stopped.

"Arcanine!"

Ash paced over towards Arcanine and knelt down to pick the object up that it had found.

_A Poké Ball._

"This is your Poké Ball, isn't it?"

"Arc!"

He observed his surroundings cautiously and felt the walls around him – if there was a back entrance to the headquarters, it must've been in here.

_Even if there is a back entrance it would be too much of a risk for me to just waltz on in there._

Interrupting him from his thoughts, Arcanine nuzzled Ash's hand and then pointed his head in the direction of the ceiling – looking upwards, Ash noticed a large opening built high into the wall just above where Arcanine's ball was found. Stepping back a few feet to see if he could make out what was in there, he saw that it looked large enough for him to fit through – how he was going to get up there, he didn't know.

"Arcanine, do you think you could lift me up high enough for me to fit through there?"

Understanding Ash's words, Arcanine knelt down and waited for Ash to step onto his back. Carefully, Ash followed its lead and placed himself firmly on Arcanine's back, and as Arcanine slowly stood up again, Ash could just about reach the edge of the opening.

"I can reach," Ash said. Before lifting himself up onto it, he stepped off of Arcanine and quickly took off his belt and took Noctowl's ball. Releasing the bird Pokémon, he placed the rest of his team onto the floor and waited for Noctowl's attention.

"Noctowl, I need you to fly back to Pallet Town and alert the Professor of my whereabouts," he said sternly. Ash then turned his attention to Pikachu who eyed his master warily – he knew _exactly _what Ash was about to ask him.

"Pikachu, I need you to listen to me," Ash said firmly, looking around the cave again. "Go with Noctowl and take my belt with you. Show the Professor and my mom – they'll know straightaway that something's wrong. You need to get them to phone the police and you need to lead them here as quickly as you possibly can, it's my only chance of being able to get out of here."

"Pika-"

"No, Pikachu! You need to do this for me! I know you want to help but I can't risk taking any of you guys in here with me – I don't know where it's going to take me or what's going to happen. You're the only Pokémon that my mom understands, Pikachu – she'll be able to take in what's happened, trust me."

Ash then turned to Arcanine and eyed him carefully.

"Arcanine, do you think you could follow Noctowl and take yourself and Pikachu back to Pallet Town?"

"Arc!" it exclaimed.

Nodding with determination, Ash pulled himself back onto Arcanine and then onto the ledge of the opening. Turning around on his knees, he faced Pikachu, Noctowl and Arcanine one last time.

"Be as fast as you can," Ash said, watching Pikachu hop onto Arcanine's back. "Pallet Town's not exactly around the corner… do you think you'll be able to find your way back?"

With one swift nod, Arcanine sprinted back out of the cave and disappeared like a bolt of lightning – it was all down to himself now. He had no idea what would greet him on the other side of the opening, but he had to brace himself for it. Feeling his eyes adjust to the darkness, he crawled along the passageway that was gradually getting narrower and narrower – then, all of a sudden, he hit a dead end. Feeling the wall in front of him, Ash came across a hole that seemed to have been formed there by accident. Using his fist, he punched the wall with all of his strength and grinned triumphantly to himself when the rock started breaking away.

His grin soon faded as soon as the path he was on started to break away, too.

"Oh sh- wah!"

His hands slipped and before he knew it, Ash had tumbled out of the high opening in the wall of rock and landed in a pitiful heap on the floor. Small rocks continued to fall around him until suddenly, everything went quiet.

Moving his arms away from his head, Ash looked up from the floor and observed the scene that he had just entered; it was dark, damp and _extremely _cold, with nothing but hard, stone floor covering the entire space. Almost no light could be seen other than the even bigger hole in the wall that he had just made, and he could just about make out the silhouette of a door on the right-hand side. Before he could prepare himself, as Ash got to his feet he could hear the footsteps of someone else behind him and out of instinct, he turned around and punched whatever it was that was stalking him.

His fist collided hard with a jawline, causing whoever the person was to stumble back and grasp their face with their hand. Ash stood open-mouthed for a while, his fist still trembling and as he saw the figure start coming closer to him, he prepared himself for another punch.

"Geez, what was that for, Ash!?"

His fist froze.

Slowly, he lowered it by his side, staring at the dark figure in shock. His mouth had gone dry and his skin started to shiver – could it be?

"G-Gary?"

The figure took a few more steps towards him and paused just before he reached the light – then, with one last step, he took a deep breath and came into view. Ash became rigid and paralysed all of a sudden, his bottom lip trembling with disbelief – he just couldn't believe it.

"Y-you're alive," he said, finally managing to speak a few words.

"How did you find me?" Gary asked, ignoring Ash's shocked posterior. "Did Arcanine lead you here?"

"Y-yeah, he turned up out of nowhere and started acting like a maniac!" Ash exclaimed, stuttering slightly as he tried to gain his composure. "Pikachu recognised it to be _your _Arcanine so without any thought on anything I followed it on Charizard! Fuck, you're _alive _Gary!?"

"Yes, Ash, I'm alive! Are you too dense to figure that out?" Gary asked frustratingly.

"Shut up, Gary!"

"Where's Arcanine now?"

"Heading back to Pallet Town," Ash said. "I sent Pikachu with him to alert my mom, the Professor, whoever's back in Pallet Town wanting to know where I am!"

"Why do they need to know where you are?" Gary asked. "Aren't you out travelling?"

"No, n-not anymore," Ash said weakly, remembering his main goal. "Gary, since you've been gone, some pretty fucked up stuff's been happening all over the regions… gym leaders are disappearing, Gary, and no one knows why."

"I know," Gary said bluntly.

"You do? How do you know?" Ash asked incredulously, rubbing his temples in agitation. "Gary, where are we? What _happened _to you?"

"We're in the headquarters of Euphoria," Gary said, storming past Ash and observing the door. "This is the west dungeon – I can't tell you how long ago I was thrown in here but it feels like hours."

"Aren't Euphoria the group that's supposedly taking the gym leaders?"

"Yeah, except they aren't _supposedly_ taking the gym leaders, Ash, they _are _taking the gym leaders. They've been doing it for the past three years, and this is where they've been keeping them. You must've seen how well hidden this place is – if you were just a passer-by you'd never guess that a huge organisation is hiding in the depths of a waterfall. That's why they've never been caught, and unless someone does something about this, they'll continue to carry out their plans without even breaking a sweat."

"Do you know _why _they're doing it?"

"Something about taking over the League – I don't know this for sure but I'm pretty certain they're planning to wipe something out but what the gym leaders have to do with that, I don't know."

"Is Misty here?"

Gary froze.

"Yes," he said steadily. "She's somewhere here in the headquarters. I've been trying to escape from this shithole of a dungeon to try and rescue her but I've got nothing on me to get me out."

"Why do _you_ want to rescue her?"

Gary paused momentarily before carefully choosing his words.

"Ash, when I say that it's a long story, I mean it," Gary said, swallowing down a large lump in his throat. "If we ever get out of here alive then I'll happily explain to you _everything _that's happened to me… and not just you – _everyone. _But right now, Misty's in danger, and we need to get our asses into gear if we're gonna have a chance at finding her."

Ash narrowed his brows at Gary and chose not to question him any further – it proved to be difficult, but he was positive that Gary had a valid explanation as to why he'd want to rescue Misty in-particular. Had he seen Misty? Had he interacted with her since her capture from Euphoria? Most importantly, was she still _alive? _Deciding that those questions would have to wait, he nodded his head in agreement.

"Fine," Ash said, looking around the chamber. "But at least tell me something, Gary – is she still alive?"

"Y-yes," Gary said hesitantly, suddenly becoming nervous. "I wouldn't count on knowing that she's safe though, Ash – my boss can't be trusted."

His stomach dropped – he hadn't planned on saying that.

"Your boss?" Ash asked astoundingly, stepping back slightly. "Gary, do you _work _for these people!?"

"Now's not the time to be discussing that, Ash!" he exclaimed, grabbing his spiked hair in his hands. "We need to get out of here _now_ before it's too late – _anything _could be happening to her right now and if we don't get a move on then we'll be the ones to blame!"

For some reason, this made Ash seemingly forget what Gary had just said about Euphoria – bringing his hands to the top of his head, Ash looked up to the ceiling and took in a deep breath before turning to face Gary again.

"Fine," he said shakily, warily observing Gary. "What's the plan?"

"I know the way to the east dungeon from here – that's where Misty's being kept. It's right over the over side of the headquarters but if we manage to get out of here, I know the back way round – not many Euphoria guards take this route. It'll take longer but we'll have more of a chance at getting to her without getting shot."

"Right," Ash said confidently, listening intently to Gary's words. "And if we get there?"

"I know the access code so we should be able to bust in pretty easily – I just hope they haven't changed it. After that, we'll think of what we do next – we're just gonna have to deal with anything that tries to stop us."

Gary stopped and rubbed his temples, pacing the floor.

"Do you have anything sharp?"

Ash instantly started searching through each of his pockets, rummaging around desperately to try and find anything that could help them escape – just as he thought it proved to be useless, his hand stopped on something small.

Grabbing the object between his fingers, he lifted it out of his pockets and brought it up close to his face.

"Misty's lure," he said disbelievingly.

"That'll do," Gary said, holding out his hand for Ash to place the lure in. "She made this for you?"

"Yeah, years ago," Ash said, smiling subtly at the memory. "I carry it with me as a good luck charm – looks like it's proved to work."

"Let's just hope it gets us out of here," Gary said as he used the lure to try and break the lock, "because if it doesn't then our plan pretty much goes to shit."

As Gary twisted the lure around in the lock of the door, Ash waited in anticipation – it just _had _to work. As Gary breathed in sharply when the hook of the lure dug into his skin he gave it one last twist and suddenly, a large click echoed across the chamber.

Gary paused and looked at Ash before grinning triumphantly.

"Well done, Ashy-boy," Gary said teasingly, giving the lure back to him. "For once, you proved yourself to be useful – who knew you had a brain in that thick head of yours?"

"Shut up, Gary," Ash muttered, scowling at his cocky counterpart.

Flashing an arrogant smirk for a brief second, Gary's expression turned stern. He inhaled deeply and grasped the handle of the door, being careful enough to twist it as smoothly and quietly as he could. When the handle could no longer turn, he gently pushed the door open and placed his right-eye to the gap. The corridor was completely empty and deadly silent – any sudden movement or sound and they'd be done for. Opening the door slightly more, Gary poked his head out from the chamber and studied the corridor even further.

"It's clear," he whispered to Ash, facing him again. "Now, listen – we have to do this smoothly and quietly. _Do_ _not_ make a sound. Any sudden movement or noise and those guards will be on our case within seconds, you got it?"

"Right," Ash nodded.

"Alright," Gary said, nodding confidently at his childhood rival. "Let's do it."

Taking one final check at the corridor that lead out of the chamber, Gary nodded his head to Ash to follow him – Ash didn't even hesitate, and within a matter of seconds, they were running swiftly down the endless tunnel of the west dungeon.

The hunt to find Misty was on.

* * *

Author's Note:

Bloody hell, this was the _hardest _chapter I've ever had to write! It took me ages to get this perfect – the Pokémon's interactions, Ash's interactions with the Pokémon, Ash and Gary's confrontation… it took a lot of time and thought to make it as realistic as possible.

I wanted to add Ash into the plot to give him some sort of meaning – I didn't want him to just search for Misty and his whole role in the story to just be forgotten about. Plus, I think it's good how he's had to all of a sudden forget that Gary has supposedly been dead for four years and just get on with it – he isn't ten anymore, things have changed!

Please please _please _review if you're reading this story – only if it's a few words long, just leave me something to let me know what you're liking/disliking about the story so far. It's mighty helpful and really encourages me to push on and continue writing!

Another big thanks to Ally147 for supporting me throughout most of the writing of this story!

Until next time,

Charityx


	13. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Wow, thank you guys _so _much for your lovely reviews on the last chapter! I really did work my arse off trying to make it the best it could be so I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much – let's hope that this chapter is just as good!

A change of setting is used in this chapter as we need to see how things are doing outside of Euphoria. There are a lot of characters introduced that haven't been mentioned in a while, so it's been fun writing about them!

Without further ado, here's the next chapter to _Hunt_.

Hunt

Chapter 12

Numb.

That's all Delia Ketchum could describe the way she was feeling; numb. It had been five days since Misty's disappearance and the same amount of days since her only son had gone to look for her. Although at first she'd tried to stay positive about Ash's plan, as the days went by, that positivity slowly seemed to drift away – all that was left was dread and remorse. She kept playing over and over again in her head what she should've done and what she should've said to stop him from going, but the more she thought about this, the more pain she felt. It was hard enough knowing that Misty had gone missing, let alone her own _son. _If anything ever happened to Ash while he was out looking for her she'd never be able to let it go – it would be all her fault. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Ash could be careless and stupid at times – he always seemed to run into trouble no matter where he was.

As she held the mug of coffee in her hands, she felt her eyes come out of focus and her vision soon became blurred. It was just _unbearable – _the whole atmosphere of Pallet Town had gone from being relaxed and carefree to tense and bitter within seconds, and as Delia tried her best to think about happy thoughts of Ash and Misty, it only made her eyes well up even more.

On the other side of the room were Misty's three sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet. As soon as they'd heard the news of Misty's disappearance they'd booked the next flight out to Kanto and met Delia as soon as possible – from there, the Professor had kindly offered them all his hospitality and insisted that they stay with him and Daisy Oak at the mansion. They would've been stupid not to take up this offer because at that moment in time, Delia and Misty's sisters needed all the help they could get.

Lily and Violet were on a couch opposite Delia in the large, warming living room of the Oak household – Lily appeared to be forcing her eyes to stay awake, but every now and again she'd drift off for a minute or so, only to suddenly jolt back into consciousness. Violet held her sister's hand tightly and was tapping her foot impatiently, trying her best to focus her attention on something other than the tense atmosphere she was currently in. Daisy, however, was stood at the window on the left-hand side of the wall, gazing distantly into nothingness – she appeared to be ignoring everything around her, deep in thought and away from the rest of the world. Being the eldest sister of the four, Daisy had always been very independent and rarely showed her emotions to anyone, even in a situation as bad as Euphoria.

Just down the hallway, the Professor and Daisy Oak were making more coffee in the kitchen. The Professor looked worn and weary, his eyes sunken and lifeless – Daisy, however, continued to shine brightly and tried her absolute best to keep a warm smile on her face. Deep down, she wanted to burst into floods of tears and hide away in her bedroom for hours on end, but she refused to let Delia and Misty's sisters see her like that. She needed to be strong for them and she needed to show them that no matter what the consequences, you can always move on – she'd experienced that herself with Gary.

A soft clicking of a door told the Professor that the laboratory had been locked up, and within a few seconds, two figures appeared at the kitchen door.

"We've done everything you asked, Professor."

Samuel Oak turned to his two counterparts and smiled weakly. He honestly didn't know what he'd do without Tracey and Brock – they'd been by his side straightaway as soon as they'd heard the news of Misty's disappearance and knew that he'd need a lot of help at the lab. Tracey had always been a brilliant help, even working with Gary in his younger years a couple of times whenever Gary visited home and Brock had always been a very close family friend. Travelling with Misty and Ash for so long, Brock was probably the only person that knew them more than anyone and he had a very strong ability at observing people's thoughts and actions. As soon as Brock had arrived at the Oak mansion, it only took one look at Delia and Misty's sisters to know that they needed to be left alone for a while. Of course, Brock had his own share of grieving to do, but now wasn't the time for that – he needed to be strong, just like the person he'd always been when around Ash and Misty.

"Thank you," the Professor said, handing them both a mug of coffee. "I appreciate everything you've done over the past few days, boys – I definitely wouldn't have gotten all that work done on my own."

"Anytime, Professor," Tracey said, smiling warmly. "You've done the right thing with closing the lab for now – it would be too much for you to handle if you'd decided to continue working."

"Tracey's right," Brock said knowingly. "You need your rest too, Samuel – this is a lot to take in for all of us, especially for you. You've been through this before already."

Brock, now at the age of twenty-three, had grown extremely close to the Professor over the past few years – becoming a Doctor, Brock needed all the support he could get from the older Oak and if it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have become so successful in his profession. The Professor had often invited Brock over to the lab whenever a Pokémon had fallen sick so Brock could learn from the Professor himself, offering advice and tips leading him to become one of the best Pokémon Doctors around. As soon as the gym leaders had started disappearing, Brock had felt somewhat relieved that he wasn't a gym leader anymore but he was still extremely concerned about his younger brother, Forrest – his parents had made sure that the gym was closed and Forrest was protected securely at home. At the age of sixteen, Forrest was still extremely young so the League had accepted that the Pewter City gym must close down – the other gym leaders who were a lot older and more experienced than Forrest continued to battle nonetheless.

Still, Brock couldn't help but feel a strong wave of guilt – when the gym leaders had started disappearing, he'd had near to no contact with Misty at all. He'd call her every few months or so to see how she was doing, but she refused to talk about the gym leader case for some strange reason – Brock guessed that she refused to believe that it would ever happen to her, but how wrong she was. Yet, he still felt like it was _his _fault, to some extent; what if he'd been in touch with her more? What if he'd made her close the gym earlier? Would she not have been abducted? He knew that he couldn't go blaming himself for what had happened, but he couldn't help but feel as if he had some sort of part to blame. Misty was like a sister to him, after all – he'd seen her at her best, her worst _and _her most vulnerable… he was supposed to look after her, but he'd failed to do that.

As he thought back to the whole beginning, Brock couldn't help but think back to the day that Gary had disappeared. Gary's disappearance had been a shock to everyone, but once the gym leaders had started to disappear too it only made the situation worse. Nobody knew for sure whether or not the gym leaders were being abducted by the same people as Gary so no one really treated it as suspicious, but this had been a thought that had crossed Brock's mind on more than one occasion. However, no matter how much it crossed his mind, he couldn't think of a valid reason as to why they would want to abduct Gary – he wasn't a gym leader, nor was he a trainer. He was a researcher, so it couldn't have been the same people. In all honesty, Gary's disappearance was even more mysterious than the gym leaders – what would anyone want to do with Gary? Had he done something bad that he hadn't told anyone about? As Brock continued to abuse his brain with endless amounts of questions, he was interrupted by the soft voice of Daisy Oak.

"Is everything okay, Brock?" she asked politely, a warm smile covering her face. He shook his head quickly and gave her a confident nod of assurance.

"Sorry, I spaced out for a moment," he said. "How are you, Daisy?"

She sighed heavily.

"I'm alright, I suppose. I'm just trying to stay positive for everybody else… it's so hard, Brock. I've been there before – God, I'm _still _there. Not a day goes by where I don't think about Gary, and now Misty's gone, it's just…"

"I know how you feel," Brock said assuredly, watching the Professor sit next to Delia in the living room. "Misty's truly like a sister to me – I can read her like a book and I know that she can trust me with absolutely anything, but I'm trying my best to stay level-headed for Delia and her sisters especially – they need the support at the moment. I'll find time to grieve on my own when the right time comes."

"You can only be so strong, Brock," Daisy said, a look of concern on her face. "You're just as close to Misty as they are – you travelled with her for months, Brock, and you've remained extremely close for years after that. They'd completely understand if you break down too… keeping it all in isn't going to do you any good."

"You're probably right," Brock said, his eyes becoming distant as he watched Delia sob helplessly into the Professor's arms. "I can't help but feel guilty, Daisy – I hardly spoke to Misty in the few months before she went missing. I can't help but feel like I could've done something to stop this from happening."

"You can't blame yourself for this," Daisy said. "That's the worst thing you can do – I've been down that route before and it's not good. It only makes the situation worse. Misty didn't have any notice or thought on what to do, and you know how passionate she is about her job… that's probably why it took her so long to close the gym. Even if she _did _decide to close the gym earlier than she did, there's no saying that it would've stopped them."

"But what if I'd spoken to her sooner? She would've closed the gym earlier which would've meant there'd be less of a chance of her getting abduct-"

"Nobody can change what's happened, Brock," Daisy said sternly, her eyes sincere. "I've learnt that, and it took me a long time to learn that, but you can't change the past. None of us had _any _idea on who these people were going to target next. It's just so unfortunate that it was Misty… but _please_, don't blame yourself, Brock. This isn't your fault; it isn't _anyone's _fault, okay? I want you to understand that. When Gary went missing, all I could think about was what I could've done and what I should've done but I realised that there was _nothing _I could've done, Brock... and it took me a long time to realise that."

Brock glanced at the floor and sighed heavily – Daisy was right. She'd been in his place before and if he was going to listen to anyone, it had to be her. She'd lost her younger brother who she loved and cherished with all of her heart and he hated to think that she'd ever blame herself for his disappearance – that's how she must've been feeling about him. Looking down at her thankfully, he pulled her into a hug and closed his eyes for a moment.

"You'll get through this," she said calmly, resting her head on his shoulder. "If anyone can do it, you can – I know you don't want to grieve in front of everyone else, but you know where I am if you ever need to let it out. I know I'll need to at some point."

"Thanks, Daisy," Brock said. "You're one of the strongest people I've met, you know that?"

"I have to be strong," she replied, smiling confidently. "I know that Gary would want me to be strong, and Misty would expect the same from you."

"You're right," Brock said, thinking of Misty and her fiery personality – she wouldn't want him to give up hope. She'd be the _first _person to kick his arse into gear if she was here with him, so chuckling silently to himself, he took in a deep breath.

Pulling out of their embrace, Brock made his way into the living room. He observed the scene cautiously – Delia continued to sob into the Professor's arms and Misty's sisters were on the other side of the room, each one lost in thought. He spotted Tracey making his way towards him, looking dull and helpless.

"I don't think now's the time to be in here," he said, joining Brock in the doorway to the living room. "I've just tried speaking to Daisy but she doesn't want to talk to anyone – Lily and Violet are consoling in each other so I think we should leave them to it, Brock."

"I think that's best," Brock said, walking with Tracey back down the hallway to the kitchen. "I'm actually feeling a little better – Daisy talks a lot of sense, you know."

"Well, she _is _the granddaughter of Professor Oak," Tracey joked, lifting the atmosphere a little. "She can help you out a lot, Brock. She's your age and she knows exactly what it's like to lose someone that's so close to you – console in her more often."

"I think I will," Brock said, smiling subtly. "What about you, Tracey? I'm not the only one who was close to Misty."

"I don't think it's hit me yet to be totally honest," Tracey admitted, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I feel like I'm just walking around helping everybody else out and that I haven't really had a chance to think about my_ own_ feelings… but when I do you'll be there for me, right?"

"You know I will," Brock said, placing a reassuring hand on Tracey's shoulder.

"Thanks, Brock."

Back in the living room, Daisy Oak watched Daisy Waterflower intently – she was staring numbly outside of the window, her eyes glazed and heavy. The older Waterflower sister had isolated herself from the others, choosing to deal with the situation on her own. She'd been like that for days now and refused to talk to anybody, not even her own sisters – Daisy knew exactly how she felt, though, as she once had isolated herself from everybody else when Gary had disappeared.

Observing the others around the room, Daisy Oak cautiously made her way over to the eldest Waterflower sister and followed her gaze out of the window, taking in a deep breath.

"I know exactly how you feel, Daisy."

Daisy Waterflower furrowed her brows together slightly and moved her gaze away from the dull scene outside the window – she slowly looked at the Oak sister and watched her curiously, unable to make any response.

"I was exactly like you – I completely isolated myself from everybody else and didn't want to speak to anyone for weekson end. Losing Gary was like losing myself, in a way – I was the one he always looked up to, I was the one he came to for support, I was the one who should've appreciated what I had because you never know when it's going to change… and all of a sudden, Gary was gone. I spent months wishing that I'd spent more time with him, that I'd listened to him more, that I'd actually made the effort but in time I realised, Daisy, that it didn't matter how much I saw Gary and spoke to him… what mattered was that I was his sister and I was _always _there for him, no matter what. He'd call at the most ridiculous times in the night if something was bothering him and I'd hate him for it but at the same time I knew I only accepted it because I loved him.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say, Daisy, is that I _know _you're feeling guilty right now and I _know _you're wishing that you'd appreciated Misty more, but when someone means that much to you, it doesn't matter _how _many times you see them or spoken to them – it's what you do for them that counts. And, believe me, if Misty was here right now, she'd respect you more than she's ever done before."

Daisy Waterflower looked to the floor in a distant manner – Gary's sister smiled weakly at her before turning to leave but the soft touch of Daisy's hand caused her to stop.

"Thank you," Daisy Waterflower said, her eyes glimmering with tears. Daisy Oak smiled at her warmly before making her way out of the living room and back towards the kitchen – as she joined Brock and Tracey, she gave them a reassuring nod.

"She's fine, Tracey," Daisy said confidently. She watched Tracey's shoulders drop with relief and he silently thanked her, leaving the kitchen to go and join the eldest Waterflower sister. The two had always been extremely close and Tracey had made it clear that he cared for Misty's sister in a large amount of ways, and with the situation they were in, Daisy Waterflower needed somebody like Tracey to find comfort in – he just hoped that she'd stop isolating herself from everybody.

"That's a huge weight lifted off his shoulders," Brock said, half laughing as he watched Tracey make his way back into the living room. Daisy smiled amusedly and nodded in agreement, the feeling of proud coursing through her – as she was about to respond to the young man next to her, a loud bang was heard from the front door.

"What on earth was that?" Daisy asked tremendously.

"I don't know but it doesn't sound good," Brock said, putting down his mug of coffee as he made his way down the long entrance hall to the front door. Before he even reached it, another bang soared through the mansion and as Brock quickened his pace, the front door smashed open and a large, overbearing Pokémon charged through, sprinting past the young Doctor causing him to fall backwards. Daisy Oak screamed as the Pokémon came pelting towards her but as soon as it saw her, it stopped dead in its tracks – everything around Daisy seemed to stop.

"What on earth is going on!?" the Professor exclaimed as he stumbled out of the living room, observing the hallway and the state of the front door. As he followed the mess, his eyes came to Brock lying on the floor and then, the Pokémon staring directly at Daisy.

Daisy continued to stare ceaselessly at the large Pokémon, the mug of coffee becoming loose in her hands. It watched her hopelessly, its eyes round and full of emotion – she placed her coffee on the kitchen side and cautiously stepped towards the Pokémon, slowly lifting a gentle hand to the Pokémon's face. Tenderly caressing its fur, she let out a soft sob – with her eyes rimmed with tears, a small, weak smile graced her face.

"Arcanine," she whispered, her gaze never leaving the Pokémon's longing stare.

"Daisy," the Professor said, watching his granddaughter cautiously. He watched Arcanine curiously, observing the Pokémon with patience when suddenly, he understood exactly why Daisy was so taken aback.

"Gary's Arcanine," he said simply, a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"Pika!"

Down the hallway, Pikachu came sprinting through the front door followed closely by Noctowl. He was carrying a belt full of Poké Balls and appeared to be out of breath and stricken with panic. Back in the living room, Delia Ketchum lifted her head abruptly – she knew that voice. Jumping up from her seat on the couch, she ran out of the living room and paused in the hallway, watching the small mouse Pokémon run towards the kitchen.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu came to a halt and turned around sharply to face Delia.

"Where's Ash, Pikachu?" she asked demandingly, lifting a hand towards her chest. "Is he in trouble?"

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, running up towards her and flinging the belt off his back, causing the Poké Balls to fall everywhere. She gasped and felt her eyes start to fill with tears again, the breath hitched in her throat – she looked from the Poké Balls to the Professor and Daisy Oak, and weakly, she made her way down the hallway to the kitchen, the world around her starting to crumble again.

"Samuel," she said faintly as she walked into the kitchen. "A-Ash is in trouble."

"Delia, how can you be certain?" he asked, holding her shoulders. His eyes then averted to Pikachu who was tugging on the bottom of his trousers, a look of worry plastered across his face.

"Ash's belt, Sam," she choked, the energy draining from her. "Pikachu had it – he's in trouble, Sam!"

"Delia, calm down," the Professor said desperately, bringing a hand to his temples. "This whole situation is extremely odd – first Arcanine and then Pikachu…"

"Who's Arcanine is that?" Brock asked as he got to his feet, brushing himself down. As the Professor started to answer him, another person beat him to it.

"It's Gary's Arcanine, Brock," Daisy Oak spoke up, coming out of the kitchen. "And he's alive."

Everybody had come together by this point – Tracey and Misty's sisters had joined the Professor, Delia, Brock and Daisy in the kitchen, all completely bewildered by the situation. As the Professor listened to his granddaughter's words, he shook his head in disbelief – the whole thing was absurd.

"Daisy, let's not jump to conclusions," the Professor said quickly, trying to grasp how to deal with the situation. "We don't know that fo-"

"No, Gramps," Daisy said, her eyes sincere and honest. "He's alive. You have to trust me on this."

The Professor watched his granddaughter in astonishment and then, his entire mind caved in. He brought both of his hands towards his face and rubbed his eyes roughly, taking in a deep breath – it was _far _too much to take in.

"Pikachu," Delia said softly, kneeling down to his height. "Do you know where Ash is?"

"Pika!"

"Did he send you here, Pikachu?" she asked, now desperate. "Is Gary with him, too?"

"Pika, pika-pika!"

Delia breathed in sharply – nervously, she swallowed down a large lump in her throat and asked the mouse Pokémon something she was praying would have a positive answer.

"Is Misty with them?"

Pikachu's ears lowered – he wasn't sure about Misty. Delia's eyebrows narrowed but she petted Pikachu's head softly, giving him a weak smile.

"Thank you, Pikachu," she said as she stood back up, looking over at the Professor. He looked continuously between Pikachu and Arcanine, trying to think of what to do – how could they be sure if Gary was definitely alive? Had they physically _seen _him? It could all be false hope and they'd all endured _far _too much of that over the years he had been missing. As he looked back at Delia, his shoulders loosened – her boy was in danger, and whether he was positive that Gary was alive or not, Ash was most certainly in trouble – Pikachu knew that for sure. Taking in a deep breath, he observed everyone around him before speaking.

"Then we go," he said bluntly. "Pikachu, do you know where Ash is situated?"

Pikachu nodded and looked up at Noctowl who too nodded its head – Arcanine watched the Professor guardedly, waiting for his response.

"Tracey, I want you to alert the police. As soon as they're here, we'll leave together – we're to stick together, is that clear?"

"I'm going now," Daisy Oak said with confidence, storming past the Professor and grabbing her coat from the hallway.

"Daisy, did you listen to what I just said!?" the Professor exclaimed, running after his granddaughter. "It's too dangerous for you to go alone, especially a girl of your age! You're staying with us whether you like it or not!"

"You can't stop me, Gramps!" she shouted, walking back towards Arcanine. "I'm not wasting time. We've been relying on the police for years and what have they found? _Nothing. _This is the first bit of clear evidence we've been given since Gary disappeared and I'm not just going to sit back and let other people do the work!"

The Professor was taken aback by his granddaughter's sudden outburst. She was normally such a calm and laidback girl but this was a whole new side that he hadn't seen from her before. And, as much as he hated to admit it, she was speaking the truth.

Daisy stroked Arcanine gently and smiled faithfully, resting her forehead against his. Then, flicking her hair over her shoulder, she leapt onto Arcanine's back and held onto him tightly - within a flash, Arcanine had sprinted out of the Oak mansion.

"Daisy, wait! I'm coming with you!"

Before anyone could say anything, Brock had ran after Daisy and disappeared out of sight.

"I have to stop her."

"Samuel," Delia interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let her go. She's right and you know it – let her follow her instinct. She'll be fine… you have to trust her."

The Professor swallowed down a sharp lump in his throat and felt his heart rate rise – she'd never shown so much passion and bravery before. Although she was the eldest out of his two grandchildren, she'd always been the shy one – and that was what he was worried about. If anything happened to her, he wasn't sure that Daisy would be able to handle it.

"The police are on their way, Professor," Tracey said nervously.

The Professor nodded his head subtly and continued to stare at the front door, all senses and emotions drained from him – he couldn't take it in, and deep down, he didn't think he'd ever be able to.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope that was good! I'm sorry for the later update – work has been _mental _recently and I just haven't had time at all to sit down and write! This is a bit of a filler chapter but it was needed because we can't just ignore what's happening outside of Euphoria. As I said, it was fun writing about some different characters – especially ones that you can develop however you want!

Once again, please please _please _review – you don't realise how much it means to me! Even if it's one word, I honestly don't mind, just let me know your thoughts on the story and latest chapter.

See you all soon,

Charityx


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